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BERKELEY 

LIBRARY 

UNIVER 
CALIFORNIA 


-^ 


*s. 


The  Kings  Highway; 


THE   CATHOLIC  CHURCH    THE   WAY   OF 
SALVATION, 


REVEALED  IN  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 


A  a  path  and  a  Way  shall  be  there  ;  and  it  shall  be  called  the  Holy  Way  :  and   this  eliall  W 
unto  you  a -straight  way,  so  that  fools  shall  not  err  thereiu."— I«aia9  xxxv.S. 


BY   THE 

Rev.  AUGUSTINE  F.  HEWIT, 

Of  the  Congregation  of  St.  raid. 


New  York: 

THE  CATHOLIC  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
No.  g  Warren  Street. 

1874. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

Rev.   AUGUSTINE    F.    HEWITT, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


LOAN  STACK 


HE  ABBEY  OF 

PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  written  this  book  from  the  prompt- 
ing of  a  desire  to  do  something  expressly 
for  the  benefit  of  that  class  of  Protestants 
among  whom  I  was  born  and  brought  up. 
Most  of  the  books  written  in  English,  with  the 
direct  object  of  convincing  Protestants  of  the 
truth  of  the  Catholic  religion,  are  specially 
adapted  to  the  use  of  Episcopalians  of  high- 
church  opinions.  And,  moreover,  those  Ca- 
tholic writers  who  make  it  their  aim  to  con- 
vince and  convert  non-Catholics  in  general, 
without  special  reference  to  the  small  body  of 
high-churchmen,  usually  have  in  view  those 
who  are  on  the  extreme  left  of  Protestantism, 
or  have  already  lapsed  into  rationalism.  The 
greater  number  of  converts  in  our  own  day 
have  been  either  from  the  one  or  the  other  of 
these    two    classes.      Very    few    have    passed 

71 


iv  Preface. 

directly  from  Calvinism,  or  the  stricter  form  of 
what  is   called    Evangelical    Protestantism,  to 
the  Catholic  faith.     There  have  been,  never- 
theless, some  conversions  of  persons   of  this 
sort  in  Scotland,  England,  and  our  own  coun- 
try, besides  a  much  greater  number  in   Ger- 
many.    It  is  to  be   hoped  that  the  light  of 
divine  truth  and  grace  will  ere  long  penetrate 
this  body,  which  represents  the  dogmatic  and 
historical  Protestantism  of  the  first  pretended  re- 
formers, and  has  hitherto  remained  so  apparent- 
ly inert  and  immovable  in  the  place  where  it 
was  thrown  by  the  convulsion  of  the  sixteenth 
century.    That  it  has  begun  to  be  disorganized 
and   is  on  the  way  to  complete  disruption,  is 
manifest.     It  must  disappear  in   the  common 
rationalism  and  infidelity  of  the  age,  or  be  re- 
united to  the  Catholic  Church.    All  human  and 
secondary  causes  are  working  toward  the  effect 
of  producing  the  former  most  sad  and  disas- 
trous result.     It  is  only  the  grace  and  special 
providence  of  God  which  can  prevent  or  im- 
pede it.       It  is  to  be   hoped  that  this    divine 
power  will  be  shown,  by  bringing  back  at  least 
a  large  number  of  those  who   still  believe  in 


Preface.  v 

the  Bible  and  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  with 
their  offspring,  to  the  fold  of  the  true  church, 
from  which  they  are  now  separated  by  the  sin 
of  their  ancestors.\ 

I    have    determined   to   make   one    humble 
effort  toward  persuading  those  who  are  of  the 
more    noble  sort,   who   really   love  truth  and 
clinof  to  their  Christian  traditions  of  faith  and 
morals,  to  examine  their  position  seriously,  and 
carefully  consider  whether  it  is  safe  and  dura- 
ble for  themselves  and  their  children.     I  ad- 
dress only  those  who  believe  that  those  Scrip- 
tures of    the  Sacred   Canon  which    are   com- 
monly received   among   orthodox  Protestants 
and   contained  in  their   Bibles  are   really  the 
word   of  God.       I  have  in   view,   first  of  all, 
those  who  hold  the  Calvinistic  doctrines,  and, 
secondarily,  all  those  who  believe  in  common 
with  Calvinists,  without  holding  all  their  pecu- 
liar tenets,  certain    fundamental  doctrines  re- 
tained by  Calvin,  Luther,  and  the  founders  of 
the  English  Church.     Those  who  hold  more 
latitudinarian  opinions  are  welcome  to  get  what 
good  they  can  from  my  course  of  arguing ;  but 
I  have  not  made-  any  attempt  at  directly  con- 


vi  Preface. 

vincing  them  on  their  own  ground.  My  argu- 
ment is  from  the  Scriptures,  and  presupposes 
that  their  true  sense,  as  held  by  the  Catholic 
Church,  is  already  in  several  things  admitted, 
and  in  all  other  things  must  be  admitted  as 
absolute  truth  so  soon  as  it  is  certainly  known 
to  be  the  true  sense  of  the  sacred  writers.  In 
my  quotations  I  have  used  King  James's  Ver- 
sion, because  it  is  the  one  with  which  my  Pro- 
testant readers  are  familiar.  At  the  same  time, 
I  have  taken  care  to  ascertain  that  the  passages 
quoted  are  substantially  correct  renderings  of 
the  original  texts,  and  have  occasionally  made 
some  remarks  to  make  the  sense  of  the  words 
used  more  obvious  and  precise.  The  number  of 
non- Catholics  who  really  believe  that  the 
Scriptures  are  the  word  of  God,  and  must  be 
taken  as  of  divine  authority,  is  rapidly  dimin- 
ishing. It  is  still,  however,  large  and  respect- 
able, and  includes  a  number  of  men  whose 
learning  and  ability  are  eminent,  and  have  been 
exerted  in  producing  excellent  works  in  defence 
of  revealed  religion  against  infidelity  and  ra- 
tionalism. Therefore,  although  it  is  true  that 
the  controversy  between  the  •Catholic  Church  \ 


Preface.  vii 

and  old-fashioned  Protestantism  is  rapidly  los- 
ing its  significance,  it  is  not  true  that  it  has 
altogether  lost  it.  The  great  controversy  is 
with  infidelity.  Yet  it  is  still  worth  our  while 
to  address  argument  and  persuasion  to  those 
who  hold  on  to  a  part  of  Christianity,  and  to 
reason  with  them  on  the  evidence  which  proves 
that  Catholicity  is  the  true  and  perfect  Chris- 
tianity, the  religion  of  the  Bible,  and  the  re- 
ligion of  the  old  forefathers  of  our  faith. 
These  persons  look  with  dread  and  sorrow  at 
.the  inroads  of  infidelity  and  immorality.  They 
cling  with  a  strong  conviction  and  an  ardent 
attachment  to  the  belief  in  God,  in  revelation, 
in  Jesus  Christ  as  a  divine  Saviour,  in  the 
divine  mission  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  resurrection, 
and  the  life  to  come.  They  ought  to  be  com- 
pletely and  openly  on  our  side.  Unhappily, 
they  are  with  our  enemies,  who  are  also  theirs. 
Consciously,  or  unconsciously,  they  are  in  the 
position  of  the  moderates  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution, accomplices  in  a  rebellion,  whose  ex- 
treme advocates  they  are  helping  on  in  a  war- 
fare against  God  and  his  church,  destined  to/ 


viii  Preface. 

become  themselves  the  victims  of  their  fury,  if 
their  warfare  is  successful.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  they  will  see  this  before  the  time  of  the 
approaching  final  conflict,  and  take  their  place 
in  the  Catholic  ranks.  Future  events,  how- 
ever, can  only  be  known  in  the  future  time. 
One  thing  we  may,  however,  hope  for  with 
confidence:  that  many  individuals  will  be  con- 
verted to  the  church  from  those  sects  which 
follow  the  doctrines  of  Luther  and  Calvin.  If 
so  many  have  been  converted  from  Anglican- 
ism and  rationalism,  why  should  not  a  similar 
stream  of  conversion  soon  set  in  from  this  other 
direction  ?  The  movement  toward  the  church 
has  reached  those  others  first,  for  obvious  rea- 
sons. But  at  the  present  time  the  Catholic 
Church  is  so  conspicuously  brought  before  the 
minds  of  all  men,  everywhere;  and  is  so  rapidly 
extending  itself  in  the  regions  where  the  old 
Presbyterianism  and  Congregationalism  have 
held  dominion  ;  that  the  sincere,  candid,  and 
earnestly  religious  cannot  help  giving  it  their 
serious  consideration.  I  have  endeavored  to 
stimulate  and  assist  this  conscientious  enquiry 
in  the  following  pages.     I   was  brought  up  in\ 


Preface.  ix 

Calvinism,  and  studied  the  Calvinistic  theology. 
I  made  a  sincere  effort  to  believe  it,  and  to  find 
in  it  a  doctrine  satisfactory  to  my  reason,  con- 
science, and  heart.  The  result  of  my  studies 
and  prayers  and  efforts  to  find  out  and  fulfil 
the  will  of  God  was  that  I  became,  through 
the  divine  grace,  a  Catholic.  I  shall  be  most 
happy  if  I  can  assist  others  to  follow  the  same 
course  and  obtain  a  share  in  the  same  great 
blessing.  Having  myself  passed  over  the  road 
from  Calvinism  to  the  Catholic  faith,  I  know  it 
well ;  and  I  am  confident  that  all  those  who  are 
disposed  to  follow  the  same  route  will  receive 
great  assistance  from  what  I  have  written  in 
the  present  volume.  It  is  by  means  of  those 
great  Catholic  doctrines  which  they  already 
believe  that  I  aim  to  show  them  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  errors  which  they  hold  with 
these  aforementioned  doctrines ;  and  by  means 
of  their  implicit  Catholic  principles  and  natural 
good  sense  that  I  endeavor  to  prove  by 
deduction  from  those  doctrines  and  express 
testimonies  of  Holy  Scripture  other  Catholic 
doctrines  which  they  misunderstand  and  reject. 
The  mortal  principle  of  the  heresy  of  Luther/ 


x  Preface. 

is  his  doctrine  of  justification.  Therefore  I 
have  made  it  my  first  object  to  refute  that  false 
and  absurd  tenet;  and  to  prove  the  true  and 
Catholic  doctrine  of  justification,  as  the  vital 
principle  of  the  sound  and  orthodox  doctrine  of 
salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  From  this  in- 
terior principle  and  doctrine  I  have  proceeded 
outward  to  the  exterior  body  and  surface  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  instead  of  the  usual 
method  of  beginning  with  the  outward  and 
visible,  and  going  inward  to  that  which  is  its 
invisible  and  spiritual  form.  This  method  is 
the  most  suitable  for  the  class  of  persons  I 
wish  to  reach,  and  for  my  chief  object ;  which 
is,  to  present  the  Catholic  Church,  not  so  much 
in  its  historic  truth  and  grandeur,  as  a  divine 
institution  for  a  certain  general  end  and  good ; 
as  in  its  relation  to  each  individual  soul,  as  the 
way  and  means  of  its  eternal  salvation.  I  offer 
this  book,  therefore,  to  those  who  wish  to  save 
their  souls,  and  entreat  of  them  to  read  it  with 
a  serious  motive,  and  with  prayer  to  God  for 
light  to  see  and  good-will  to  obey  the  truth.\ 

Its  concluding  pages  and  preface  have  been 
written  amid  the  charming  silence  and  solitude 


Preface.  xi 

of  the  shores  of  that  beautiful  lake  *  whose 
original  and  Christian  name  was  given  to  it 
on  the  day  of  its  discovery,  the  eve  of  Corpus 
Christi,  by  the  heroic  martyr,  Father  Isaac 
Jogues.  I  have  had  the  happiness  of  laying 
the  corner-stone  of  the  first  Catholic  church 
on  the  borders  of  the  lake,  the  site  of  which  is 
in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  historic  interest,  where 
formerly  the  sounds  of  bloody  warfare  were 
loud  and  frequent.  On  a  still  and  bright  Sun- 
day afternoon,  the  magic  panorama  of  nature 
wearing  its  softest  and  most  attractive  aspect, 
the  air  laden  with  the  fragrance  of  sweet-fern, 
the  psalms  and  litanies  of  the  Roman  Ritual 
were  chanted,  and  the  foundations  of  the 
Church  of  Caldwell,  dedicated  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus,  were  blessed.  A  crowd  of 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  including  the  off- 
spring of  various  races  and  nations,  white, 
colored,  and  Indian,  picturesquely  mingled  to- 
gether, devoutly  partook  in  or  listened  with 
respectful  and  curious  interest  to  the  solemn 
prayers  and  psalmody,  and  gave  attentive  ears 
to  the  eloquent'  voice  of  the  preacher,  whose 

*  Lake  George. 


xii  Preface. 

discourse  closed  the  services  of  this  auspicious 
day.  In  memory  of  this  event,  I  dedicate  this 
book  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  with  the  prayer  that  it 
may  become  the  corner-stone  of  many  new 
sanctuaries  consecrated  to  His  glory  in  the 
hearts  of  my  readers.\ 

St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake, 

Lake  St.  Sacrament, 
Fifteenth  Sunday  after  Pentecost,  Sept.  6,  1874. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

PAGB 

'  Fundamental  Doctrines  which  are  assumed  as  granted — The 
Calvinistic  Doctrines  of  Particular  Redemption,  Election, 
and  Reprobation  refuted — The  Way  of  Salvation  through  the 
Merits  of  Christ  prepared  for  all  Mankind — The  Necessity 
of  Special  Means  and  Conditions  by  which  the  Redemption 
of  the  Human  Race  may  be  applied  to  Individual  Men,     .     17 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

Justification  by  Faith — The  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  Doc- 
trine of  Justification  by  Faith  alone  refuted — The  Nature 
and  Office  of  Faith  as  the  first  Prerequisite  to  Justification 
explained — Statement  and  Proof  of  the  Catholic  Doctrine 
concerning  Saving  Faith,        .  ,         ...     66 


xiv  Contents. 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

PAGE 

Other  Prerequisites  of  Justification — Repentance  and  Con- 
version to  God — The  Formal  Cause  and  the  Instruments 
of  Justification — Regeneration  and  Sanctifying  Grace — The 
Sacraments  Instruments  of  Grace — Baptism  the  Sacrament 
of  Regeneration, 81 


CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

Necessity  of  Means  for  the  Remission  of  Sin  after  Baptism — 
Venial  and  Mortal  Sin — The  Sacrament  of  Penance — Ex- 
treme Unction — Purgatory — Means  for  the  Preservation 
and  Increase  of  Grace  and  Holiness — The  Holy  Eucharist 
the  great  Source  of  Grace  and  Nourishment  for  the  Soul,     .  127 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

Of  the  Church — Its  Unity  and  Authority— Of  the  Rule  of 
Faith — The  Mystics — Luther's  Doctrine  of  Private  Illumi- 
nation— Of  Teaching  Authority  in  General — Of  Infallibility 
— Various  Theories  Examined  and  Tested — The  Validity 
of  the  Argument  from  Scripture  Established — Indirect,  Ne- 
gative, Cumulative,  and  Presumptive  Proofs  that  the  Ca- 
tholic Church  alone  is  the  true  Church,  .         .         .  163 


Contents.  xv 

CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

PAGE 

The  Nature,  Attributes,  and  Organic  Principles  of  the  True 
Church  proved  from  Scripture — Proof  that  the  Holy,  Catho- 
lic, Apostolic,  Roman  Church  is  the  One  True  Church 
founded  by  Jesus  Christ — The  only  Way  of  Salvation  is  in 
the  Catholic  Church — Conclusion,        ....  237 1 


The  Way  of  Salvation. 


CHAPTER     FIRST. 

)  Fundamental  Doctrines  which  are  assumed  as  granted — The  Cal- 
vinistic  Doctrines  of  Particular  Redemption,  Election,  and  Re- 
probation refuted — The  Way  of  Salvation  through  the  Merits  of 
Christ  prepared  for  all  Mankind — The  Necessity  of  Special 
Means  and  Conditions  by  which  the  Redemption  of  the  Human 
Race  may  be  applied  to  Individual  Men  \ 

THE  theme  of  my  argument  in  the  present  vol- 
ume is  the  way  of  salvation  which  is  pro- 
posed in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  especially  in  those  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  still  more  specifically  in 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  the  Apostle,  who  is  the 
great  Doctor  of  Grace.  The  particular  scope  of 
the  argument  does  not,  nevertheless,  embrace  the 
proof  of  all  the  doctrines  involved  in  this  theme, 
considered  in  all  its  completeness.  Several  of  the 
most  fundamental  of  these  doctrines  will  be  taken 
for  granted  at  the  outset,  and  assumed  as  the  data 
from  which  the  argument  will  proceed.  The  reason 
for  doing  so  is,  that  the  argument  is  addressed  to 
those  only  who  hold  these  doctrines  as  the  first  prill- 


1 8  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

ciples  of  their  religious  belief,  and  therefore  do  net 
require  to  have  them  proved.  The  chief  of  these 
doctrines  which  are  taken  as  fully  admitted  by 
those  who  are  addressed  in  this  volume  are  :  The 
Trinity,  the  Incarnation  and  Redemption,  Original 
Sin,  Salvation  by  Gratuitous  Grace,  and  the  Eter- 
nal Rewards  and  Punishments  of  the  Future  Life. 
The  Way  of  Salvation  is,  consequently,  determined 
to  be  a  way  provided  by  the  pure  and  gratuitous 
goodness  of  God,  through  the  Eternal  Son  made 
man  and  crucified  for  men  ;  through  which  some 
men  are  saved  from  the  guilt  and  penalty  of  sin, 
which  binds  all  other  members  of  the  human  race 
for  ever,  and  are  finally  brought  to  the  end  of  eter- 
nal beatitude  in  God.  Most  clearly,  then,  the  only 
part  of  the  general  theme  which  remains  as  the 
topic  of  an  argument,  is  the  order  or  method  ac- 
cording to  which  that  salvation  which  proceeds 
from  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  grace  of 
God,  is  applied  to  individual  members  of  the  hu- 
man race.  It  is  certain  that  whoever  will  be  saved 
must  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
how  is  this  grace  to  be  obtained,  and  what  are  the 
conditions  requisite  on  the  part  of  man  that  it  may 
be  actually  efficacious  to  his  salvation  ?  This  is 
what  is  meant  in  these  pages  by  the  Way  of  Sal- 
vation. It  is  the  way  by  which  one  who  is  con- 
vinced that  he  needs  to  be  saved,  and  who  desires 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  19 

to  be  saved,  may  obtain  with  certainty  the  remis- 
sion of  sin,  the  grace  and  friendship  of  God,  and 
everlasting  life  through  the  Divine  Mediator  Jesus 
Christ.  That  there  is  such  a  way,  by  which,  in  the 
words  of  St.  Augustine,  "  all  who  are  liberated  are 
most  certainly  liberated,"  will  be  admitted  without 
any  question.  But  the  question  does  arise,  and 
must  be  answered  at  the  outset,  whether  this  way 
is  open  to  all  men  without  distinction,  and  to  every 
individual  of  the  human  race  without  any  excep- 
tion. I  shall  therefore  begin  my  exposition  of  the 
scheme  of  human  salvation  proposed  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  precisely  at  this  point. 

The  decree  of  Almighty  God  to  provide  a  way 
of  salvation  for  men,  after  the  fall  of  Adam,  in- 
cluded the  whole  human  race  without  any  excep- 
tion, and  consequently  the  redemption  effected  by 
Jesus  Christ  included  all  men  without  exception. 
I  lay  down  this  proposition  as  one  to  be  proved  by 
the  Scripture.  It  has  two  parts :  the  first,  that  God 
decreed  to  provide  and  open  a  way  of  salvation  for 
all  men  ;  and  the  second,  that  Jesus  Christ  actually 
accomplished  what  God  decreed  should  be  done, 
by  his  obedience  unto  death  and  his  crucifixion. 
These  two  parts,  however,  although  distinct,  are 
inseparably  connected  together,  and  whatever  proof 
is  given  of  either  one  separately  proves  equally  the 
other,   and  thus  proves  the   entire  complex  propo- 


20  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

sition.  For,  whatever  God  decreed  Jesus  Christ 
accomplished,  and  no  more ;  and  whatever  Jesus 
Christ  accomplished,  no  less  and  no  more  was  de- 
creed by  God.  If  God  willed  to  provide  salvation 
for  all  men,  then  Christ  died  for  all ;  and  if  he  died 
for  all,  then  God  willed  that  he  should  die  to  pro- 
vide for  all  a  way  of  salvation. 

The  evidence  from  the  divine  Scripture  for  both 
parts  of  the  proposition  is  very  abundant  and  clear. 
The  particular  texts  which  declare  the  great  and 
consoling  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  all  men 
according  to  the  eternal  decree  of  the  Father,  will 
be  more  intelligible,  if  we  first  consider  one  primary 
and  essential  principle  of  all  God's  dealings  with 
men.  This  principle  is,  that  in  the  state  of  original 
justice,  in  the  fall,  and  in  the  restoration,  mankind 
bears  a  common  relation  to  God  and  to  the  end 
which  God  has  prefixed  to  the  human  race,  and  is 
treated  as  one  grand  whole,  and  not  as  a  mere  col- 
lection of  separate  individuals.  The  covenant  of 
life  which  God  made  with  Adam  included  all  his 
posterity.  The  fall  of  Adam  involved  all  his  de- 
scendants in  its  consequences.  The  new  covenant 
of  remission  and  restoration  to  life  was  made  by 
the  Father  with  the  Son,  as  the  predestined  head 
of  the  human  race  in  his  humanity.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  second  Adam,  who  undoes  the  ruinous  work 
of  the  first  Adam.      The  sin   of  Adam  is  the  pri- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  21 

mary  cause  of  the  temporal  and  eternal  miser- 
ies of  the  human  race  from  which  Jesus  Christ 
came  to  redeem  it.  It  was,  therefore,  this  sin  be- 
fore all  others  which  he  expiated  on  the  cross. 
And,  in  expiating  this  original  sin,  he  expiated  all 
other  sins,  for  the  satisfaction  which  he  made  to 
the  divine  justice  covered  the  whole  ground  of  the 
debt  due  to  God  by  men  for  their  sins.  All  man- 
kind fell  in  Adam  and  was  redeemed  by  Jesus 
Christ,  is  a  condensed  summary  of  that  part  of  the 
theology  of  the  Scriptures  which  concerns  the  rela- 
tion of  the  human  race,  under  the  present  order  of 
providence,  to  God.  And  this  I  will  now  proceed 
to  prove  explicitly,  so  far  as  relates  to  my  present 
topic. 

The  first  passage  I  cite  is  that  portion  of  the 
First  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy,  which  is  in- 
cluded within  the  first  six  verses  of  the  second 
chapter. 

0  I  exhort  therefore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be 
made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in 
authority ;  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.  For  this  is  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour;  who  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  For  there  is  one  God,  and 
one    mediator    between    God    and    men,    the    man 


22  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Christ  Jesus;    who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all, 
to  be  testified  in  due  time." 

The   meaning  of  this  passage  is   obvious  on  its 
very  surface,  but  becomes  much  more  clear  on  a 
closer  inspection.     The  commandment  is  given  to 
pray  for  all  men,  and  the  reason  on  which  that  com- 
mandment is  founded  is  the  will  of  God  that  all 
men  should  attain  salvation.     The  Avill  of  God  to 
save  men  is  therefore  coextensive  with  the  precept 
to  pray  for  men.     Is  the  latter  universal  and  without 
exception,   the   former  must   be   equally  universal, 
and  extend  to  every  individual  of  the  human  race. 
There  is  no  possible  way  of  restricting  the  will  of 
God   to   save   men,  and   the  extent  of  the  ransom 
offered  for  men,  except  by  restricting  the  precept 
of  praying  for  men   to   a  certain   class.     This  can 
only  be  done  by  a  violent  interpretation,  which  I 
trust   the   good   sense  of  every  one  of  my  readers 
will  reject.     One  who  wishes  to  restrict  the  saving 
will  of  God  and  the  ransom  of  Christ  to  the  elect, 
may  say — namely,  that  the  end  of  the  prayer  for  all 
men  is  merely  that  "  we,"  meaning  the  elect,  "  may 
lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life."     Even  if  this  were 
granted,    there    still    remains   the    statement    that 
M  God  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,"  which  cannot 
be  restricted  in  its  meaning  without  some   reason 
derived  from  the  context,  or  the  nature  of  the  case 
treated  of,  which  requires  such  a  restriction.     Then, 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  23 

again,  the  following  clause,  "  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,"  shows  that  the  reason  for 
praying  was  not  exclusively  that  the  faithful  of  that 
present  time,  the  church,  who  are  most  naturally 
understood  by  the  word  "  we,"  might  enjoy  peace  ; 
but  that  others,  who  were  then  numbered  among 
the  heathen,  might  also  be  converted.  The  special 
motive,  therefore,  which  is  given  for  praying  for 
rulers — namely,  that  they  might,  through  the  effect 
of  the  prayers  of  the  faithful,  leave  them  in  peace — 
does  not  qualify  the  entire  passage  in  which  they 
are  commanded  to  pray  for  all  men.  The  reason 
why  they  should  pray  for  all  men  in  general  is  that 
God  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  the  special 
reason  why  they  should  pray  for  rulers  is  that  they 
may  leave  Christians  in  undisturbed  liberty  to  pro- 
fess and  practise  their  religion.  And  this  is  con- 
firmed by  the  universal  understanding  and  conse- 
quent practice  of  this  precept  by  Christians  in  all 
times  and  places.  They  have  always  been  in  the 
habit  of  offering  both  public  and  private  prayers 
for  all  men  without  distinction  or  exception,  sinners 
and  unbelievers  included,  that  all  may  come  to 
the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  truth  and  be 
saved.  The  obvious  sense  of  the  passage  may 
therefore  be  thus  expressed.  The  apostle  com- 
mands that  prayers  should  be  offered  for  all 
men  ;  and   in   particular  for  rulers,  that  they  may 


24  The  Way  of  Salvation 

so  govern  as  to  leave  Christians  the  free  and 
peaceful  exercise  of  their  rights  of  conscience. 
The  reason  and  motive  why  Christians  should  pray 
for  all  men  is  that  they  should  have  charity  towards 
the  whole  human  race,  in  imitation  of  the  love  of 
God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  towards  men,  which  is  uni- 
versal. This  is  still  further  established  and  con- 
firmed by  the  reasons  which  are  given  in  conclusion 
for  this  universal  love  on  the  part  of  God  and  of 
Jesus  Christ  towards  men.  The  first  reason  given 
is,  that  "  there  is  one  God,"  or,  in  other  words,  that 
all  men  have  the  same  Creator  and  Sovereign  Lord, 
who  is  the  author  of  salvation,  or,  as  St.  Paul  ex- 
presses it,  is  "  God  our  Saviour."  The  second  reason 
is,  that  there  is  "  one  mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus ;  avIio  gave  himself  a 
ransom  for  all."  As  Jesus  Christ  is  possessed  of 
the  worth  of  condignity  with  God  the  Father  by 
his  divine  nature,  and  is  therefore  the  sole  and  suffi- 
cient mediator  in  respect  to  God,  so,  by  his  human 
nature,  he  is  made  a  suitable  mediator  in  respect  to 
men.  And  because  he  has  taken  that  human  nature 
which  is  common  to  all  men,  he  is  the  mediator  of 
all  men,  and,  as  the  apostle  declares,  without  restric- 
tion, "gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all."  It  is  only 
necessary,  therefore,  to  have  human  nature  in  order 
to  come  under  that  merciful  providence  of  "  God 
our  Saviour"  which  is  called  the  order  of  salvation, 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  25 

and  to  be  ipso  facto  included  in  the  mediation  of 
Christ  and  in  the  number  of  that  multitude  for 
whose  sins,  both  original  and  actual,  he  gave  him- 
self as  a  ransom.  The  whole  passage  brings  out 
most  clearly  the  idea  which  is  found  everywhere  in 
the  Scriptures,  that  God  is  in  a  special  and  proper 
sense  the  God  of  the  human  race.  God  is  the  God 
of  men,  because  he  has  preferred  men  before  all 
other  creatures.  He  is  not  merely  good  and  just 
toward  them,  but  also  merciful,  providing  a  way  of 
forgiveness  for  them  when  they  sin,  and  of  salvation 
when  they  have  lost  themselves,  and  is  therefore  for 
them,  and  for  them  alone,  God  the  Saviour.  The 
reason  of  it  is  found  in  their  human  nature,  the  pre- 
destined nature  of  the  Eternal  Son,  which  is  made 
the  nature  of  God  by  the  hypostatic  union'  in  his 
Person.  God  the  Father  loves  all  men,  in  a  special 
sense,  because  they  partake  of  the  nature  of  his 
Son.  Jesus  Christ  loves  them  because  they  partake 
of  his  own  nature,  are  his  race,  and  of  one  blood 
with  himself.  This  relation  to  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
mediator  and  to  the  Father  as  God  the  Saviour  is 
contracted  by  that  generation  from  Adam  which 
makes  each  individual  man  a  member  of  the  human 
race,  and  by  virtue  of  this  relationship  every  man  is 
made  a  capable  and  fit  subject  of  the  mercy  of  God 
and  the  grace  of  Christ.  The  two  lines  by  which 
the  whole  multitude  of  human  individuals  are  con- 


26  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

nected  with  Adam  and  with  Christ  are  therefore 
parallel  and  coextensive.  That  same  multitude  to 
which  God  decreed  the  salvation  by  original  jus- 
tice which  was  lost  in  the  fall  is  the  multitude  for 
which  he  decreed  to  provide  a  way  of  salva- 
tion through  the  mediation  and  redemption  of  his 
Son.  St.  Paul  frequently  draws  this  parallel,  and 
argues  with  great  force  from  one  member  of  it  to 
the  other. 

In  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (v.  14), 
he  argues  that  all  men  had  incurred  spiritual  death, 
from  the  truth,  well  known  to  his  auditors  as  a  doc- 
trine pertaining  to  the  Christian  faith,  that  Christ 
died  for  all  men.  "We  thus  judge  that,  if  one  died 
for  all,  then  were  all  dead."  This  judgment  of  the 
apostleMs  the  conclusion  of  an  informal  syllogism, 
which,  reduced  to  a  regular  form,  is  the  following  : 
All  those  to  whom  pertains  the  redemption  merited 
by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ  died  in  the  first  Adam, 
and  need  restoration  to  life  by  the  second  Adam. 
But  this  redemption  pertains  to  all  men.  Therefore, 
all  men  died  in  the  first  Adam,  etc.  The  minor 
premiss  in  this  syllogism — "  this  redemption  pertains 
to  all  men,"  which  is  the  same  in  substance  with  the 
express  words  of  the  apostle,  "  one  died  for  all " — 
may  be,  therefore,  expanded  into  the  following  pro- 
position :  The  redemption  merited  by  the  death  of 
Jesus  Christ  pertains  to  all  those  who,  being  dead 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  27 

in  the  first  Adam,  need  restoration  to  life  by  the 
second  Adam — that  is,  to  all  men  without  excep- 
tion.* And,  in  the  nineteenth  following  verse  of 
the  same  chapter,  we  have  a  further  confirmation  of 
the  universality  of  this  truth  in  St.  Paul's  declara- 
tion :  "  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  zvorld 
unto  himself." 

In  the  very  thicket  of  the  "  things  hard  to  be 
understood  "  which  crowd  the  central  peak  of  St. . 
Paul's  Epistles,  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  this  same  universal  way  to  salvation  is 
seen  threading  the  summits  of  the  mysteries  of  the- 
ology, so  plain,  so  clear,  so  unmistakable,  that  even 
"  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err 
therein. ''  (15)  "If  through  the  offence  of-  one 
many  be  dead  "  (61  noXXoi,  the  multitude  of 
all  men):  "much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
gift  by  grace,  which  is  by  one  man,  Jesus  Christ, 
hath  abounded  unto  many"  (JiSrovS  7toA\ovZ, 
to  the  same  multitude).  (18)  "As  by  the  offence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemna- 
tion :  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free 
gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life." 
The  New  York  Bible  Society's  edition  of  King 
James's  Bible  (minion  ref.  i6mo,  2d  ed.,  1861)  here 
refers   to   two    parallel   passages.     The    first  is   St. 

*  Vid.   Franzelin,  "  De  Deo,"     Thesis  xxxvii. ;   "  De  Volunt. 
Salvif.  Antcced." 


28  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

0 

John  xii.  32,  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me."  The  second  is  Heb.  ii.  9,  "  But 
Ave  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor ;  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God 
should  taste  death  for  every  man."  In  another 
place  St.  Paul  declares:  "We  trust  in  the  living 
God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  specially  of 
those  that  believe."*  Here  the  perverse  interpreta- 
tion of  those  who  explain  the  universal  terms  used 
in  the  passages  cited  above  as  referring  only  to 
the  whole  multitude  of  the  elect  is  expressly  ex- 
cluded. For,  while  the  apostle  distinctly  teaches 
that  the  faithful  participate  in  the  benefits  of  the 
redemption  in  a  much  higher  sense  than  other  men, 
he  nevertheless  declares  with  equal  distinctness  that 
God  is  the  Saviour  of  that  entire  multitude  which 
includes  all  other  men  as  well  as  those  who  believe. 
So  also  does  the  apostle  St.  John,  in  a  number  of 
other  passages  besides  the  remarkable  one  quoted 
a  little  above  :  "  In  him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was 
the  light  of  men  "  ;  "  That  was  the  true  Light,  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world  "  ; 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world  "  ;  "  And  he  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins  :  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world";  "  And  we  have  seen  and 
*  1  Tim.  iv.  10. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  29 

do  testify  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world."* 

Besides  these  passages,  which  are  in  themselves 
perfectly  clear  and  sufficient,  there  are  many  others 
distinctly  affirming  that  Christ  died  for  many  who 
will  never  obtain  everlasting  life,  and  therefore  with 
equal  precision  excluding  the  false  and  heretical 
doctrine  that  he  died  for  the  elect  only.  This  may 
be  seen  by  reading  the  Epistles,  which  are  ad- 
dressed to  the  whole  body  of  those  who  profess  the 
Christian  faith,  and  have  been  received  into  the 
church  by  baptism.  Everywhere,  their  especial 
happiness,  as  partakers  of  the  benefits  of  Christ's 
death,  and  their  consequent  obligation  and  encou- 
ragement to  fidelity,  are  enlarged  upon  with  the 
greatest  copiousness  and  force.  At  the  same  time 
they  are  warned  of  the  danger  to  which  they  are 
exposed  of  forfeiting  all  these  blessings,  and  incur- 
ring the  judgments  of  God,  if  they  draw  back  and 
do  not  persevere.  By  themselves  these  passages 
prove  only  that  Christ  died  for  a  great  number  of 
men  besides  those  who  are  predestined  to  ever- 
lasting life,  at  least  for  all  who  are  baptized,  who 
obtain  the  gift  of  faith,  and  are  justified.  That 
many  are  really  included  among  the  faithful  and 
receive  the  gifts  of  grace  who  are  not  finally  saved, 
and   therefore  that  the  number  of  the  justified  is 

*  John  i.  4,  9,  29.     1  Ep.  John  ii.  2  ;  iv.  14. 


30  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

not  identical  with  the  number  of  the  predestined, 
will  be  proved  hereafter.  And  in  that  connection, 
the  proof  from  Scripture  will  be  given  that  God 
wills  the  salvation  of  those  who  are  only  tempora- 
rily justified,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  them, 
as  well  as  for  those  who  persevere.  This  is  a  sub- 
altern proposition  to  the  more  general  proposition 
which  I  am  at  present  engaged  in  proving.  Its  spe- 
cial proof  is  equally  conclusive  with  that  of  the 
principal  proposition  against  the  contrary  proposi- 
tion of  Calvinists  and  Jansenists.  We  shall  see  a 
little  later  that  it  destroys  the  entire  Calvinistic 
theory  of  particular  redemption  and  exclusive  grace 
for  the  elect,  and  confirms  the  evidence  otherwise 
given  of  the  universal  extension  of  the  decree  of 
redemption  to  the  whole  human  race.  Throughout 
the  entire  Scriptuie,  the  invitations  and  exhorta- 
tions addressed  to  all  those  to  whom  the  divine 
revelation  is  made  known,  and  the  declarations  of 
the  willingness  of  God  to  grant  remission  of  sins  to 
all  who  are  penitent,  are  founded  upon  the  uni- 
versality of  the  mercy  of  God  toward  men.  We 
have  already  seen  that  St.  Paul  argues  from  the 
fundamental  truth  of  one  God,  the  creator  of  all 
men,  to  the  universality  of  his  merciful  providence 
over  all.  "  There  is  one  God,  who  will  have  all 
men  to  be  saved."  In  like  manner,  the  same  apos- 
tle asks,  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  appeals  to 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  3 1 

something  well  known  and  indisputable,  "  Is  he 
the  God  of  the  Jews  only?  is  he  not  also  of  the 
Gentiles  ?"  And  again  he  declares  that  "  the  same 
Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him. 
For  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved."  *  The  name  "  Father  of 
mercies  "  belongs,  therefore,  to  God  by  virtue  of  a 
common  relation  of  all  men  to  him,  and  not  by  vir- 
tue of  a  special  relation  of  some  favored  and  select 
number  of  men.  The  Psalms  are  crowded  with 
aspirations  of  praise  to  God  for  his  goodness  and 
mercy,  and  the  key  to  the  proper  interpretation  of 
all  these  inspired  breathings  of  the  royal  Psalmist 
of  Israel  is  given  by  one  remarkable  passage : 
"  The  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  his  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  his  works"  f 

This  proposition  is  absolutely  universal,  and  af- 
firms that  goodness  flows  out  of  an  essential  attri- 
bute of  God  upon  all  rational  creatures  without 
exception.  So  far  as  concerns  men,  while  their 
earthly  probation  lasts,  this  goodness  takes  the  spe- 
cific form  of  mercy  toward  sinners.  "  As  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  the  wicked  ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his 
way  and  live."  %  "  The  Lord  is  not  slack  concern- 
ing his  promise,  as  some   men  count  slackness  ;  but 

*Rom.  iii.  29  ;  x.  12,  13.  f  Ps.  cxliv.  (Prot.  cxlv.)  9. 

%  Ezcch.  xxxiii.  II. 


32  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

is  long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repent- 
ance." * 

It  must  be  plain  to  every  attentive  reader  of  the 
foregoing  pages,  especially  if  he  be  already  familiar 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  the  most  special 
acts  of  goodness  and  mercy  on  the  part  of  God 
•toward  any  of  his  rational  creatures  are  merely  ap- 
plications of  a  universal  good-will  toward  all,  which 
is  necessarily  implied  in  the  act  of  creation,  and 
proceeds  from  the  essential  nature  of  God.  The 
ultimate  reason  why  God  has  so  highly  exalted 
St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  Abraham,  David,  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  is,  that  he  is  good  to  his  crea- 
tures ;  he  loves  that  which  he  has  made.  Although 
it  is  not  necessary  that  God  should  create  any  ra- 
tional beings,  yet  it  is  necessary  that,  if  he  deter- 
mines to  create  them,  he  should  love  them,  and 
provide  them  with  sufficient  means  to  attain  their 
end.  In  this  respect  all  are  equal  before  God,  and 
must  be  impartially  treated.  The  discrimination 
among  creatures  is  one  which  respects  the  kind  and 
amount  of  good  to  be  conferred  on  each  genus,  spe- 
cies, or  individual,  and  not  their  antecedent  divi- 
sion into  two  classes,  the  elect  and  the  reprobate, 
the  first  created  for  happiness,  and  the  second  for 
misery.     The   only  genera  and  species   of  rational 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  9. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  $$ 

creatures  whose  existence  is  known  to  us  are 
angels  and  men.  The  goodness  of  God  toward  the 
angels  was  shown  by  giving  them  a  perfect  nature 
adorned  with  grace,  and  the  opportunity  of  attain- 
ing the  vision  of  God  by  a  short  probation,  but 
without  any  possibility  of  reversing  their  choice 
when  it  was  once  made.  It  was,  therefore,  the  an- 
tecedent will  of  God  that  all  the  angels  should  be 
saved,  and  those  who  forfeited  salvation  were  ex- 
cluded from  it  purely  on  account  of  their  own  wil- 
ful and  deliberate  disobedience.  The  goodness  of 
God  towards  men  was  shown,  in  the  first  instance, 
by  the  constitution  of  our  progenitors  in  the  state 
of  original  justice,  which  was  to  become  the  stable 
and  perpetual  inheritance  of  their  posterity,  if  they 
obeyed  the  commandment  of  God.  In  the  second 
instance  it  was  shown  by  the  concession  of  a  medi- 
ator who  should  open  a  way  of  restitution  to  man- 
kind after  the  fall.  Undoubtedly  the  grace  con- 
ferred both  in  the  first  and  in  the  second  instance 
was  gratuitous,  and  therefore  might  have  been 
withheld  altogether,  or  withheld  from  one  portion 
of  the  human  race  and  conferred  on  another  por- 
tion. The  same  is  true  of  the  angels  also.  But  if 
God  had  selected  some  angels  or  some  men  from 
the  whole  multitude,  by  an  antecedent  decree,  for 
the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  sanctifying  grace  and 
the  light  of  glory,  he  must  have  made  some  other 


34  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

benevolent  provision  for  the  rest  of  the  angels  and 
of  men,  whom  he  had  passed  by  in  this  decree  of 
election.  If  the  only  benevolent  provision  which 
he  determined  to  make  for  the  angels  and  for  men 
was  the  provision  of  a  way  to  attain  deinc  beati- 
tude, then  all  angels  and  all  men  must  have  been 
included  in  this  one  provision.  On  this  supposi- 
tion the  essential  goodness  of  God  determines  him 
to  confer  celestial  glory  on  every  angel  without  ex- 
ception, unless  he  sins.  Likewise,  in  the  case  of 
Adam,  the  essential  goodness  of  God  determines 
him  to  confer  on  his  posterity,  without  any  excep- 
tion, celestial  glory,  unless  he  sins  or  they  sin. 

The  theory  of  the  strict  or  supralapsarian  Cal- 
vinists  is,  therefore,  plainly  contrary  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Scripture  and  to  the  dictates  of  reason.  It 
denies  an  essential  attribute  of  God — to  wit,  his 
goodness — and  therefore  subverts  the  total  concep- 
tion of  God  as  most  perfect  Being.  According  to 
this  theory,  God  willed  antecedently  to  all  foresight 
of  sin  or  innocence,  the  salvation  of  the  elect 
angels  and  men,  and  the  damnation  of  the  repro- 
bate. For  this  end  he  decreed  the  obedience  of 
the  elect  and  the  sins  of  the  reprobate  as  the  fit 
and  proper  means  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  The 
sin  of  Adam  was  decreed  in  order  to  plunge  all 
mankind  into  eternal  ruin,  and  the  death  of  Christ 
in   order   to   rescue   and   save  the  elect.     I  do  not 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  35 

think  it  necessary  to  say  anything  more  about  this 
theory.  If  there  are  any  who  can  regard  it  with 
complacency,  I  give  them  up  as  beyond  the  reach 
of  argument.  The  Synod  of  Dort,  it  is  well  known, 
rejected  it,  and  the  great  majority  of  Calvinists,  as 
well  as  the  Lutherans,  adopt  the  milder  and  less 
repulsive  sublapsarian  doctrine.  According  to  this 
latter  theory,  God  willed,  antecedently  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  sin,  the  salvation  of  all  angels  and 
all  men.  The  decree  of  election  and  reprobaticui, 
therefore,  is  consequent  to  the  sin  of  Adam,  and 
regards  men  as  already  lapsed  into  the  state  of  ori- 
ginal sin.  All  being  alike  unworthy  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  God  may,  without  any-derogation  either 
to  his  justice  or  goodness,  leave  them  as  they  are, 
without  any  second  provision  for  their  salvation. 
In  his  pure  mercy,  he  chooses  a  certain  number 
whom  he  wills  to  save  through  the  Mediator  whom 
he  predestines,  passing  over  the  remainder.  The 
Jansenists  and  a  certain  portion  of  the  Calvinists 
teach  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  this  elect  portion 
of  mankind  alone,  although  many  other  Calvinists, 
with  the  great  body  of  Protestants,  admit  that  he 
died  for  all  men,  as  the  Scriptures  so  plainly 
declare. 

This  sublapsarian  doctrine  is  far  less  intolerable 
than  the  theory  of  the  supralapsarians.  It  does 
honor  to  the  moral  sense,  and  to  the  respect  for  the 


o 


6  The  Way  of  Salvation. 


obvious  and  traditional  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
ture of  those  who  have  adopted  it,  that  they  have 
rejected  the  pure  and  simple  Calvinistic  theory,  as 
presented  in  all  its  naked  deformity.  Nevertheless, 
the  sublapsarian  theory  is  essentially  no  better  in 
itself,  and  contains  the  same  skeleton  under  its 
cloak,  only  that  it  is  more  clumsily  put  together. 
Moderate  Calvinism  is  what  the  Germans  call  a 
HalbJieit — that  is,  a  half-theory,  the  segment  of  a 
circle,  or  the  frustum  of  a  cone.  It  denies  the  uni- 
versal benevolence  of  God  towards  the  human  spe- 
cies under  one  order  of  providence,  and  that  order 
the  very  one  specially  characterized  by  mercy,  while 
it  affirms  this  benevolence  in  every  other  order,  and 
declares  that  it  proceeds  from  an  essential  attribute 
of  God.  Such  a  theory  is  intrinsically  repugnant 
and  self-contradictory.  Either  God  is  necessarily 
determined  by  his  essential  goodness  to  good-will 
toward  his  rational  creatures,  or  he  is  not.  If  he  is, 
he  must  have  a  good-will  toward  every  rational 
creature  without  exception.  If  he  is  not,  then  he 
is  indifferent  toward  good-will  and  ill-will,  and 
therefore  free  to  manifest  the  one  toward  a  portion 
of  his  creatures,  and  the  other  toward  another  por- 
tion. But  if  God  is  supposed  to  decree  good  and 
evil  to  two  separate  classes  of  men,  antecedently  to 
any  free  acts  of  their  own,  it  must  be  supposed 
that  he  does  this  because  he  is  essentially  indifferent. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  37 

to  a  benevolent  or  a  malevolent  will.  It  is,  therefore, 
more  consistent  to  suppose  that  all  sin  and  conse- 
quent misery  in  the  universe  is  caused  by  a  male- 
volent will  of  God,  than  to  suppose  it  in  the  sole 
case  of  fallen  man.  Moreover,  this  theory  implies 
that  the  elect  are  moved  toward  salvation,  and  the 
reprobate  toward  damnation,  by  a  necessary  and 
irresistible  impulse.  And,  if  this  is  so,  it  is  more 
consistent  and  logical  to  hold  that  the  same  was 
true  of  the  angels  and  of  Adam  before  and  in  the 
fall.  The  supralapsarian  theory  is,  therefore,  cohe- 
rent and  consistent  with  itself.  It  denies  all  created 
freedom  of  will,  and  teaches  that  holiness  and  sin, 
happiness  and  misery,  are  produced  by  the  only 
first  and  efficient  cause — the  will  of  God.  Those 
who  are  created  for  glory  and  beatitude  are  brought 
to  their  end  by  a  necessary  and  irreversible  law, 
and  those  who  are  created  for  ignominy  and  misery 
are  made  to  gravitate  to  their  doom  by  a  similar 
law.  The  sublapsarian  theory,  after  laying  down 
the  contrary  rule  as  universal,  proceeds  to  make  the 
case  of  mankind  after  the  fall  an  exception.  Upon 
their  theory,  God  is  universally  benevolent,  yet  he 
is  malevolent  toward  all  men  except  the  elect.  He 
desires  the  salvation  of  all  rational  creatures  by  an 
antecedent  will,  and  decrees  to  give  it  to  all,  unless 
they  forfeit  it  by  wilful  sin ;  yet  he  does  not  desire 
the   salvation   of  the   reprobate,  or  give   them  the 


o 


8  The  Way  of  Salvation. 


freedom  of  choice  by  which  they  can  refrain  from 
sin,  but  dooms  them  before  their  birth  to  an  un- 
avoidable necessity  of  sinning,  and  to  eternal  tor- 
ments from  which  he  will  not  permit  them  to 
escape. 

There  is,  indeed,  an  appearance  of  saving  the 
justice  and  goodness  of  God  in  the  statement  that 
God  does  not  abandon  the  reprobate  to  their  doom 
by  a  decree  antecedent  to  the  foresight  of  sin,  but 
subsequent  to  the  foresight  of  original  sin,  in  which 
all  men  are  involved  by  the  fall  of  Adam.  God,  it 
is  said,  wills  the  salvation  of  all  men,  considered 
as  included  in  the  first  covenant  made  with  Adam, 
and  really  provided  for  the  salvation  of  all  men  by 
that  covenant.  But  when  Adam  fell,  the  covenant 
was  broken,  mankind  was  ruined,  and  God  was  not 
obliged  by  his  justice  or  goodness  to  provide  a  re- 
demption from  the  effects  of  the  fall.  If  in  his  infi- 
nite mercy  he  chose  to  rescue  and  save  some  men, 
in  preferring  these  he  committed  no  act  of  in- 
justice against  the  others  whom  he  passed  over. 
This  is  most  true,  if  understood  in  an  orthodox 
and  Catholic  sense,  and  entirely  conformed  to  the 
doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture.  But  in  the  sense  of 
the  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  and  Jansenists,  it  is  most 
false,  as  an  exposition  of  that  sense  will  clearly 
show. 

According  to  this  heretical  doctrine,  the  state  of 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  39 

original  justice  was  nothing  more  than  the  natural 
integrity  and  rectitude  in  which  God  created  Adam 
as  a  perfect  man,  with  the  essential  and  integral 
attributes  and  circumstances  due  to  his  human 
nature.  He  could  not,  according  to  his  own  wis- 
dom and  goodness,  have  created  him  in  any  differ- 
ent or  inferior  state — in  any  state  in  which  his  facul- 
ties were  not  proportioned  to  the  attainment  of 
the  beatific  vision  in  "the  kingdom  of  glory.  By 
the  fall  he  became  essentially  and  totally  evil  and 
depraved,  incapable  of  doing  any  actions  or  elicit- 
ing any  volitions  which  are  not  sinful.  All  his 
posterity  are  conceived  and  born  in  this  totally 
depraved  and  sinful  state,  and  made  actual  sinners 
from  the  beginning  of  their  existence,  without  any 
power  to  the  contrary.  They  are  consequently 
doomed  to  the  fire  of  hell  from  the  first  instant 
of  their  conception,  and  compelled  to  do  nothing 
while  they  live  but  add  new  torments  to  those 
they  have   inherited   by  generation  from  Adam. 

This  theory  is  irreconcilable  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  universal  good-will  of  God  to  his  rational  crea- 
tures. Every  human  soul  is  created  immediately 
by  God.  If  he  creates  it  with  a  necessity  of  sin- 
ning, and  suffering  in  consequence  the  eternal  pri- 
vation of  all  good,  he  has  no  good-will  towards  it, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  wills  only  the  greatest  possible 
evil  to  it  from  the  very  beginning  of  its  existence. 


4-0  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

It  is  a  sophistical  evasion,  as  well  as  a  cruel  mockery 
of  the  moral  sense  and  right  feelings  of  the  human* 
heart,  to  say  that  the  unhappy  soul  is  doomed  to 
this  hopeless  misery  on  account  of  the  sin  of  Adam 
imputed  to  it.  The  soul  comes  fresh  from  the 
creative  hand  of  God,  and  by  the  fact  of  being 
created  contracts  all  the  essential  relations  of  a 
rational  creature  toward  the  Creator.  But  the 
very  act  of  subjecting  it  to -such  an  imputation  is 
a  subversion  of  its  most  essential  relation  to  God. 
It  is  the  infliction  of  the  greatest  possible  evil 
upon  it  before  it  has  had  a  probation,  before  it  has 
done  anything  to  deserve  punishment,  before  it  is 
capable  of  a  free  moral  act.  It  is,  moreover,  a 
contradiction  in  terms  to  assert  such  an  imputation 
of  the  act  of  one  individual  to  another  individual. 
It  cannot  be  done  really,  and  a  merely  nominal  im- 
putation is  a  legal  fiction,  which  is  contrary  to  all 
justice.  But  the  absurdity  of  this  theory  does  not 
stop  here.  Total  depravity  destroys  the  moral 
nature,  annihilates  freedom  of  choice,  and  thus  puts 
an  end  to  the  power  of  sinning  and  to  all  accounta- 
bility. One  who  is  incapable  of  doing  anything 
else  except  sinning  is  in  the  category  of  a  blind 
man  in  respect  to  sight,  a  cripple  in  respect  to 
walking,  an  idiot  in  respect  to  rational  activity. 
The  unhappy  reprobate  stumbles  blindly,  helpless- 
ly, stupidly,  down  the  descent  of  his  miserable  life 


The  Way  of  Sa/vatiou.  41 

into  the  open  grave,  and  through  the  grave  into 
everlasting  woe,  as  a  blind  and  lame  idiot  who  had 
been  carried  up  to  the  top  of  the  Matterhorn  might 
stumble  over  its  slippery  crest  into  the  abyss  be- 
neath. It  is  idle  to  pretend  to  reconcile  such  a 
theory  as  this  with  the  universal  benevolence  of 
God.  The  only  consistent  Calvinist  is  the  merciless 
supralapsarian,  who  asserts  only  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  and  reduces  his  goodness  to  a  mere  arbitrary 
will  of  bringing  the  elect  to  glory,  all  the  rest  of 
the  rational  creation  being  wholly  excluded  from 
the  love  of  God. 

It  is  true,  nevertheless,  and  most  plainly  taught 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  the  redemption  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  a  work  of  pure  grace  and  mercy. 
It  is  therefore  certain  that  God  might  have  left 
mankind  unredeemed,  or  might  have  redeemed 
only  a  certain  elect  number.  It  is  impossible  to 
reconcile  this  doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture  with  that 
other  equally  clear  doctrine  of  the  same  Scripture 
that  God  loves  all  his  creatures,  on  the  Calvinistic 
theory  of  original  justice  and  original  sin.  *  There 
must  be,  therefore,  another  and  a  true  doctrine 
which  is  in  harmony  with  all  that  the  Holy 
Scripture  teaches  respecting  the  necessity  of  the 
divine  benevolence  and  the  gratuitousness  of  the 
divine  grace.  This  is  the  Catholic  doctrine — that 
original  justice,  with  the  annexed  promise  of  the 


42  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

beatific  vision,  was  a  gratuitous  and  supernatural 
gift  of  God  to  the  human  race  in  Adam.  This 
supernatural  gift  was  made  to  depend  on  Adam's 
obedience,  and  was  forfeited  by  his  sin.  Human 
nature  was  not  totally  depraved  by  this  loss,  but 
despoiled  and  changed  into  something  worse, 
though  still  retaining  all  its  essentials,  and  there- 
fore remaining  essentially  good.  Unquestionably, 
God  might  have  carried  out  to  the  fullest  extent 
the  penalty  which  he  had  before  denounced  to 
Adam :  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  He  might  have  deprived  our 
first  parents  of  life  immediately,  and  thus  have  de- 
stroyed the  whole  human  race  in  its  root.  Or  he 
might  have  left  them  on  the  earth  to  propagate 
their  species  under  the  changed  and  deteriorated 
conditions  of  the  state  of  lapsed  nature  in  which 
we  are  now  all  born,  without  providing  a  redemp- 
tion and  restoration  through  a  mediator.  But  in 
this  latter  case  he  must  have  manifested  in  some 
way  his  benevolent  will  toward  all  those  whom  he 
created  under  these  conditions,  by  virtue  of  that 
essential  relation  which  all  creatures  bear  to  their 
Creator.  The  human  race  could  not  have  been 
continued,  with  its  history,  its  development 
through  a  regular  series  of  ages,  and  its  final  con- 
summation, without  some  end  worthy  of  the  w?s- 
dom  and  goodness  of  God,  to  which  he  would  have 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  43 

conducted  the  race  and  the  individuals  belonging 
to  it  by  his  merciful  providence.  In  point  of  fact, 
he  did  decree  and  promise  a  redemption  ;  and,  since 
it  was  solely  and  exclusively  by  that  order  of  pro- 
vidence which  is  based  on  the  redemption  that  he 
made  any  provision  whatever  for  carrying  out  his 
good-will  to  all  the  posterity  of  Adam,  they  were 
all  necessarily  included  in  that  redemption.  So  far 
as  we  know,  our  birth  and  existence  are  due  merely 
to  this  decree  of  redemption  through  the  Mediator. 
Our  first  parents  were  called  to  account  for  their 
sin,  received  their  penance,  were  forgiven  and  re- 
stored to  grace,  with  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer 
from  the  seed  of  the  woman,  before  they  were  sent 
out  of  Paradise  to  begin  the  toils  of  their  allotted 
portion  of  earthly  life,  and  to  beget  children  who 
should  inherit  a  similar  allotment,  with  its  pro- 
bation of  labor  and  trial,  and  its  annexed  blessing 
of  grace  and  hope  through  the  promised  Redeemer. 
It  is  therefore  probable  that  we  owe  our  existence 
and  all  our  natural  enjoyments,  the  green  fields, 
the  blue  sky,  the  fresh  air,  and  all  else  that  is  fair 
and  pleasant,  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  saved  this  world  from  the  curse  which  the 
sin  of  Adam  brought  upon  it,  and  from  total  de- 
struction, by  sprinkling  upon  it  his  precious  blood. 
For  myself,  I  am  firmly  convinced  with  St. 
Athanasius,  Suarez,  and  other  eminent  theologians, 


44  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

that  the  Incarnation  of  the  Word  was  decreed  be- 
fore the  foresight  of  the  fall.  If  this  be  so,  the 
universe,  and  especially  the  human  race,  was  only 
created  in  view  of,  and  with  reference  to,  Christ.  It 
is  therefore  on  his  account,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
eternal  love  of  the  Father  to  him,  that  we  received 
the  first  communication  of  grace  in  the  Paradisaic 
state.  For  the  same  reason  it  was  impossible  that 
the  human  race  should  be  frustrated  of  its  super- 
natural end.  It  was  the  predestined  race  of  the 
Incarnation,  and  human  nature  was  the  predestined 
nature  of  God.  The  Omnipotent  Word  could  not 
permit  his  own  race  and  his  own  nature  to  be 
finally  ruined  and  destroyed.  He  redeemed  us, 
therefore,  because  by  the  mere  fact  of  our  human 
nature  we  are  his  own  blood-relations.  The  re- 
demption is  as  wide  in  its  extent  as  the  relation- 
ship. But  the  relationship  of  blood  to  the  Divine 
Redeemer  extends  to  every  individual  of  the 
human  race,  and  therefore  the  redemption  also. 
In  a  wider  sense,  this  relationship  to  the  Word 
Incarnate  exists  in  all  rational  creatures,  and,  so 
far  as  their  nature  admits  of  it,  in  all  created 
things ;  and  in  him,  therefore,  is  the  ultimate 
reason  of  their  existence  and  motive  of  all  the  good 
conferred  upon  them  by  their  Creator.  This  is 
taught  by  St.  Paul  in  a  very  distinct  and  explicit 
mrnner   in   the    Epistle    to    the    Colossians :    "His 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  45 

dear  Son  [the  Son  of  his  love,  Marg.~\  ...  is 
the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of 
every  creature :  for  by  him  were  all  things  created, 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible 
and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  domin- 
ions, or  principalities,  or  powers :  all  things  were 
created  by  him,  and  for  hint :  and  he  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist.  And  he  is 
the  head  of  the  body,  the  church  :  who  is  the  be- 
ginning, the  first-born  from  the  dead  ;  that  in  all 
things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence.  For  it 
pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  fulness 
dwell  ;  and,  having  made  peace  through  the  blood 
of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto 
himself;  by  him,  I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in 
earth,  or  things  in  heaven."  *  St.  John  declares  in 
the  preface  of  his  Gospel  concerning  the  Word  : 
0  That  was  the  true  Light,  which  light eth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  f  St.  Paul, 
again,  in  his  sermon  on  the  Hill  of  Mars  at  Athens, 
teaches  that  the  supernatural  and  merciful  provi- 
dence of  God  embraces  all  men,  all  times  and 
places,  and  all  events  on  the  earth,  and  connects 
this  truth  with  the  very  idea  of  one  God  the 
creator  of  all  things.  "  God  that  made  the  world 
and  all  things  therein  .  .  .  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face 

*  Coloss.  i.  13-20.  f  John  i.  9. 


46  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before 
appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation  ;  that 
they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel 
after  him,  and  find  him,  though  he  be  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us  :  for  in  him  Ave  live,  and  move, 
and  have  our  being  ;  as  certain  also  of  your  own 
poets  have  said,  For  we  are  also  his  offspring."  * 
The  same  apostle,  in  another  sermon,  or  rather 
impromptu  address,  to  the  people  of  Lystra,  refers 
all  common,  natural  blessings  enjoyed  by  the 
heathen  to  the  same  source — that  is,  the  merciful 
providence  of  God  for  the  salvation  of  men  :  "  We 
preach  unto  you  that  ye  should  turn  from  these 
vanities  unto  the  living  God,  which  made  heaven, 
and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  things  that  are 
therein  :  who  in  times  past  suffered  all  nations  to 
walk  in  their  own  ways.  Nevertheless  he  left  not 
himself  without  zvitness,  in  that  he  did  good,  and 
gave  us  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons, 
filling  our  hearts  with  food   and   gladness."  f 

There  are  none,  therefore,  who  are  excluded 
from  the  decree  of  salvation  and  redemption  by  a 
decree  of  reprobation.  Those  who  are  deprived  of 
the  light  of  revelation  are  not  on  that  account 
abandoned  by  God  and  under  a  necessity  of  sin- 
ning and  incurring  eternal  torments.  Free-will 
remains  even  in  the  state  of  fallen  nature,  and  by  it 
*  Acts  xvii.  24-2S.  f  Acts  xiv-  I5_I7- 


The   Way  of  Salvation.  47 

the  heathen  are  able  to  perform  acts  of  natural 
virtue.  They  have  a  natural  law,  as  St.  Paul 
teaches  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  :  "  For  when 
the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature 
the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these,  having  not 
the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves :  which  show 
the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts 
the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one 
a'nother."  *  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  more 
particularly  the  questions  which  relate  to  the  con- 
dition of  those  who  are  out  of  the  ordinary  way  of 
salvation  without  any  fault  of  their  own,  or  who 
die  in  the  state  of  original  sin  only,  without  any 
actual  sin.  I  have  proved  clearly  enough  from  the 
Scriptures  and  from  general  principles  that  no 
rational  creature  can  be  excluded  from  the  merciful 
providence  and  good-will  of  God,  except  by  his  own 
free  and  voluntary  act.  All  those,  therefore,  who 
are  deprived  of  the  opportunity  of  receiving  the 
grace  of  regeneration  in  Christ,  and  attaining  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  are  in  some  way  provided  for 
by  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God.  No  argument 
can  be  derived  from  their  case  against  the  universal 
operation  of  the  divine  benevolence.  Nor  is  there 
any  valid  objection  furnished  by  it  against  the 
doctrine  that   God   decreed   to  provide  in  Christ  a 

""'Rom.  ii.  14,  15. 


4^  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

redemption  universal  in  its  extension  for  the  human 
race.  There  is  no  human  being,  adult  or  infant, 
who  is  excluded  from  the  grace  of  regeneration  and 
eternal  salvation  by  any  decree  of  antecedent  re- 
probation. Those  who  fail  of  it  without  their  own 
fault  fail  through  the  operation  of  second  causes. 
Each  and  every  one  of  them  is  as  capable  of  receiv- 
ing the  divine  grace,  in  case  it  were  applied  to  him, 
as  any  of  those  who  are  actually  regenerated.  All 
men  are  generated  in  the  initial  and  inchoate  order 
of  grace  and  salvation,  because  redemption  is 
generic  and  not  individual,  and  the  Redeemer 
promised  to  our  first  parents  becomes  ipso  facto  the 
Redeemer  of  the  entire  human  race.  Therefore 
every  one  to  whom  the  way  of  salvation  is  pro- 
posed can  be  certain  that  this  way  is  open  to  him, 
and  that  there  is  no  hidden  decree  of  reprobation 
recorded  against  him  which  renders  him  incapable 
of  receiving  or  persevering  in  grace  and  obtaining 
heaven.  This  has  been  amply  proved  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  There  are,  however,  a  few  obscure 
and  difficult  passages  in  the  Scriptures  which  appear 
to  those  who  have  been  used  to  read  the  Bible 
through  Calvinistic  spectacles  to  have  a  very  dark 
and  terrifying  aspect,  and  to  overshadow  some  part 
of  the  human  race  with  the  gloomy  cloud  of  repro- 
bation. I  will  therefore  examine  these  passages,  and 
explain  their  true  sense  before  proceeding  further. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  49 

The  first  of  these  passages  occurs  in  what  is 
called  the  Protevangelium,  or  Primary  Gospel,  re- 
corded by  Moses  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis  : 
"  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman, 
and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed."  *  What  is 
the  seed  of  the  serpent  ?  Evidently  not  a  distinct 
race  of  human  demons  generated  by  the  devil.  It 
is  the  multitude  of  the  wicked,  in  whom  the  like- 
ness of  the  devil  is  formed  by  their  voluntary  recep- 
tion of,  and  obedience  to,  the  false  principles  and 
maxims  which  he  suggests  to  them.  Here  again 
the  American  Bible  Society  furnishes  a  number  of 
most  satisfactory  references  to  other  texts,  which 
explain  the  meaning  of  this  one  in  accordance  with 
the  orthodox  sense  of  the  church  :  "  But  when  he 
saw  many  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  come  to 
his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them,  O  generation  of 
vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come?"  "He  answered  and  said  unto  them, 
He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man ; 
the  field  is  the  world  ;  the  good  seed  are  the  chil- 
dren of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the  tares  are  the  children 
of  the  wicked  one  ;  the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the 
devil."  "  Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites !  .  .  .  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of 
vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  %  " 
H  Jesus  answered  them,  Verily,  verily,   I   say  unto 

*Gen.  iii.  15. 


50  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

you,  Whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of 
sin.  .  .  .  If  ye  were  Abraham's  children,  ye 
would  do  the  works  of  Abraham.  But  now  ye  seek 
to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told  you  the  truth. 
.  .  .  Ye  do  the  deeds  of  your  father.  .  .  . 
Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your 
father  ye  will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  abode  not  in  the  truth,  because  there 
is  no  truth  in  him."  "  But  Elymas  the  sorcerer  [a 
chief  one  among  the  spiritists  of  those  days]  witn- 
stood  them,  seeking  to  turn  away  the  deputy  from 
the  faith.  Then  Saul,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
set  his  eyes  on  him,  and  said,  O  full  of  all  subtilty 
and  all  mischief,  thou  child  of  the  devil,  thou  enemy 
of  all  righteousness,  wilt  thou  not  cease  to  pervert 
the  right  ways  of  the  Lord  ?  "  "  He  that  committeth 
sin  is  of  the  devil"*  This  last  text  sums  up  and 
explains  the  whole  series.  A  man  becomes  a  child 
of  the  devil,  or  one  of  the  seed  of  the  old  serpent, 
by  sinning.  I  will  prove  hereafter  that  some  of 
these,  and  even  the  worst  of  them,  are  apostates 
from  grace  and  from  faith,  who  have  been  once 
justified  and  sanctified,  and  for  whom  Christ  is  ex- 
pressly declared  to  have  shed  his  blood.  It  has 
already  been  proved  that  God  desires  their  con- 
version   and    invites    them    to    repentance.      It    is 

*Matt.  iii.  7,  xiii.  37,  and  xxiii.  33  ;  John  viii.  34  ;  Arts  xiii.  8  ; 
1  John  iii.  8,  with  the  several  contexts. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  51 

therefore  purely  their  own  free  act  which  makes 
them  children  of  the  devil,  and  not  a  sentence  of 
reprobation  under  which  they  are  born. 

The  second  difficulty  is  found  in  the  case  of  Esau 
and  Jacob,  cited  by  St.  Paul  in  the  ninth  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  :  "  When  Rebecca 
also  had  conceived  by  one,  even  by  our  father 
Isaac  (for  the  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither 
having  done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of 
works,  but  of  him  that  calleth),  it  was  said  unto 
her,  The  elder  shall  serve  the  younger."  So  far  as 
the  election  of  Jacob  and  the  rejection  of  Esau  are 
considered  in  reference  to  their  own  persons,  it  is 
evident  from  the  very  words  quoted  and  from  the 
entire  narrative  of  Genesis  that  these  relate  to 
merely  temporal  matters.  Esau,  although  the  first- 
born of  the  twins,  was  put  aside,  and  Jacob  pre- 
ferred to  the  dignity  of  patriarch  of  the  chosen 
people.  St.  Paul  declares  that  this  was  done,  not 
on  account  of  any  worthiness  in  Jacob  or  unworthi- 
ness  in  Esau,  but  according  to  the  sovereign  will  of 
God.  And  when,  in  another  place  (Heb.  xii.  17) — a 
passage  often  cited  to  prove  that  some  persons  can- 
not repent  if  they  try  ever  so  much — the  apostle 
says  that  "when  he  would  have  inherited  the  bless- 
ing, he  was  rejected  :  for  he  found  no  place  of  repen- 
tance, though  he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears,"  it 


52  The    Way  of  Salvation, 

is  plainly  the  blessing  of  the  birthright  that  is  ex- 
clusively referred  to,  and  not  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 
The  passage  from  Malachy  which  St.  Paul  proceeds 
to  quote  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  "  Jacob 
have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated,"  will  be  seen 
by  any  one  who  will  read  the  prophecy  to  refer  to 
the  difference  of  God's  dealings  with  the  Jews  and 
Idumaeans.  The  former  were  restored  to  their  own 
land,  after  they  had  been  sent  into  captivity  for  their 
sins,  by  an  act  of  grace  and  mercy.  The  latter 
were  exterminated,  on  account  of  their  sins,  by 
an  act  of  justice.  "  Jacob  have  I  loved  "  means, 
therefore,  Jacob's  posterity  have  I  treated  with 
special  mercy ;  "  Esau  have  I  hated  "  means,  Esau's 
posterity  I  have  treated  with  a  just  severity. 
When  the  apostle,  then,  asks  the  question  in  the 
person  of  an  objector,  "  Is  there  unrighteousness 
with  God?"  the  sense  of  it  is:  When  two  classes 
of  persons  or  two  individuals  have  equally  sinned, 
and  equally  deserve  punishment,  is  it  unjust  for 
God  to  be  more  merciful  to  the  one  than  to  the 
other?  "  God  forbid.  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  I 
will  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I 
will  have  compassion."  This  was  said  to  Moses 
when  he  asked  for  a  special  manifestation  of  the 
presence  of  God  with  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
desired  to  see  his  glory.  His  request  was  so  far 
granted  that  God  gave  him  some  kind  of  a  super- 


The   Way  of  Salvation.         .       53 

natural  vision  of  his  goodness.  It  evidently  means 
that  God  bestows  his  gratuitous  and  supernatural 
graces  according  to  his  own  will,  and  that  man  has 
no  power  to  deserve  or  attain  them  by  his  own  natu- 
ral qualities  or  efforts.  This  is  the  deduction  made 
by  the  apostle  :  "  So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that 
willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  that 
showeth  mercy."  All  this  forms  a  part  of  St.  Paul's 
argument  on  the  general  thesis  of  his  Epistle.  This 
thesis  is  :  that  vocation  to  the  faith  and  justification 
were  given  both  to  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  gratui- 
tously, and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  were  not 
merited  by  any  natural  descent  from  Abraham  and 
outward  observance  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  or  by  any 
observance  of  the  natural  law. 

A  third  difficulty  follows  immediately  upon  the 
second,  in  the  instance  of  Pharaoh.  "  For  the  Scrip- 
ture saith  unto  Pharaoh,  Even  for  this  same  purpose 
have  I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might  show  my  power 
in  thee,  and  that  my  name  might  be  declared 
throughout  all  the  earth.  Therefore  hath  he  mercy 
on  whom  he  will,  and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth." 
It  is  not  said  that  God  created  Pharaoh  to  show  his 
power  by  drowning  him  in  the  Red  Sea,  but  that  he 
"  raised  him  up,"  or,  as  other  versions  have  it,  consti- 
tuted, placed,  or  preserved  him.  God  willed  that 
Pharaoh  should  listen  to  Moses,  embrace  the  true 
religion,  obey  his   commandments,  and  attain  salva- 


54  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tion.  By  his  own  wilful  pride  and  obstinacy,  he 
turned  all  the  temporal  and  spiritual  advantages 
which  were  given  him  for  his  own  good  into  the 
occasion  of  his  own  signal  destruction.  Moses  says 
expressly  that  he  hardened  his  own  heart.  After 
he  had  hardened  his  own  heart,  God  hardened  him 
still  more.  That  is,  God,  foreknowing  that  he  would 
be  further  hardened  by  reason  of  the  obstinacy 
which  he  had  caused  in  himself,  by  a  certain  course 
of  his  providence  toward  him,  and  would  madly 
oppose  himself  to  his  will,  pursued  that  very  course 
toward  him,  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  carry- 
ing out  the  purposes  of  his  proud  will,  until  he 
rushed  upon  the  punishment  and  ruin  which  He  had 
prepared  for  him.  St.  Paul  gives  this  as  an  instance 
under  a  general  law  of  divine  providence.  "  Whom 
he  will  he  hardeneth.''  Some  persons  who  have 
provoked  the  indignation  of  the  Almighty  are 
placed  in  circumstances  which  allow  them  the  oppor- 
tunity of  sinning  with  a  high  hand,  and  of  going  on 
in  a  successful  and  prosperous  career  of  crime.  He 
does  not  interfere  to  prevent  efficaciously  their  arriv- 
ing at  an  obdurate  and  final  impenitence,  either  by 
giving  them  a  continuous  series  of  special  graces,  or 
by  thwarting  their  undertakings.  And,  at  last,  he 
makes  them  terrible  examples  of  his  justice  and 
severity.  "  He  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will." 
Other  persons,   equally  or  more    undeserving,    are 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  55 

checked  and  stopped  in  their  career  of  sin,  and  in 
many  instances  become  eminent  saints  and  servants 
of  God. 

Still  another  of  these  difficulties  occurs  in  the  very- 
answer  which  the  apostle  makes  to  an  objection 
against  his  statement  respecting  the  case  of  Pharaoh  : 
"  Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  yet  find 
fault  ?  for  who  hath  resisted  his  will  ?  Nay  but, 
0  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God  ? 
Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it, 
Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus?  Hath  not  the  pot- 
ter power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make 
one  vessel  unto  honor,  and  another  unto  dishonor  ?  " 
The  explanation  of  this  passage  depends  entirely  on 
the  understanding  of  the  point  of  comparison  be- 
tween mankind  and  clay.  It  is  not,  as  wholly  inert 
and  passive  under  the  potter's  hand,  that  clay  is  an 
apt  figure  of  sinful  men  under  the  controlling  power 
of  God's  providence,  and  this  is  not,  therefore,  the 
point  of  the  comparison.  The  want  of  any  deter- 
mining force  in  the  clay  by  which  it  can  naturally- 
become  a  vessel  of  honor  is  that  to  which  St.  Paul 
compares  the  lack  of  natural  and  positive  aptitude 
to  sanctity  and  glory  in  man.  God  alone  can  fashion 
human  nature  into  his  own  similitude  in  glory.  This 
he  does,  in  the  case  of  "  the  vessels  of  mercy  which 
he  had  afore  prepared  unto  glory,"  but  not  with- 
out their  free  co-operation  with  grace,  since,  as  the 


56  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

apostle  strongly  insists  in  this  and  other  chapters  of 
the  Epistle,  these  vessels  of  mercy  Avere  those  from 
among  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  who  believed  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  thus  obtained  "  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  faith."  So,  also,  the  vessels  made  "  unto  dis- 
honor" are  expressly  declared  by  the  apostle  to 
have  incurred  this  ignominy  through  their  unbelief, 
"  for  they  stumbled  at  that  stumbling-stone" — that 
is,  refused  to  receive  their  true  Messias  on  account 
of  his  humility  and  the  requisition  he  made  on 
them  to  give  up  their  national  pride  and  preju- 
dices. The  apostle  therefore  continues,  immediately 
after  the  principal  passage  above  quoted :  "  What 
if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath,  and  to  make  his 
power  known,  endured  with  much  long-suffering  the 
vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction  ?  "  How,  and 
by  whom,  fitted  to  destruction?  By  themselves, 
through  their  sins  and  their  resistance  to  grace,  by 
which  they  have  given  themselves  that  hardness 
which  renders  them  unfit  to  be  fashioned  into  ves- 
sels of  honor.  That  God  spares  their  lives,  and 
gives  them  the  means  and  opportunities  which  they 
abuse,  is  in  itself  an  act  of  mercy.  That  he  turns  their 
wicked  projects  and  criminal  acts  into  an  indirect 
occasion  of  the  manifestation  of  his  own  power  and 
glory  through  their  destruction,  is  an  act  of  justice. 
St.  Paul's  objector  impiously  accuses  the  justice  of 
God,  because  he  condemns  persons  and  acts  which 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  57 

he  has  turned  by  his  power  into  instruments  of 
accomplishing  his  own  infallible  decrees.  For  ex- 
ample, the  treason  of  Judas,  the  unbelief  and 
malice  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  the  cowardice  and  in- 
justice of  Pilate,  by  means  of  which  was  accom- 
plished the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord,  who  thereby 
redeemed  the  world.  The  reply  of  St.  Paul  to  this 
objection  is  an  application  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  sovereignty  of  God  over  his  creatures, 
illustrated  by  the  power  of  the  potter  over  clay. 
The  potter  cannot  make  anything  essentially  im- 
possible or  essentially  different  from  the  nature  of 
clay  out  of  clay.  He  is  bound  by  the  laws  of  nature 
and  the  rules  of  art.  Neither  can  God  exercise  his 
sovereign  power  in  contravention  of  the  essential 
attributes  of  his  own  being,  which  are  as  necessary 
laws  or  regulating  principles  of  his  operation,  or  in 
contravention  of  the  rules  of  his  divine  art,  which 
are  moral  and  in  harmony  with  the  freedom  of  the 
human  will.  He  cannot,  therefore,  make  a  vessel 
of  dishonor  out  of  any  one  who  has  not  voluntarily 
made  himself  fit  for  nothing  else  than  ignominy  and 
destruction.  But,  if  one  has  prepared  himself  for 
this  ignominious  destination,  it  is  the  sovereign 
right  of  God  to  bring  good  out  of  the  evil  which  he 
has  wrought,  and  out  of  his  destruction  which  is 
the  just  recompense  for  it,  by  making  both  the 
occasion  of  manifesting  his  own  power  and  glory. 


58  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

This  last  act  of  God  proceeds,  therefore,  from  his 
will  as  consequent  upon  the  foresight  of  sin  and 
final  impenitence,  and  not  from  his  antecedent  will. 
For  this  reason,  the  apostle,  speaking  of  the  time 
during  which  the  probation  of  the  sinner  lasts,  de- 
clares that  God  endures  him  with  much  long-suffer- 
ing, implying,  what  is  elsewhere  in  the  Scripture  dis- 
tinctly taught,  that  he  is  waiting  for  his  repentance. 
It  is,  therefore,  altogether  the  fault  of  those  who 
are  made  vessels  of  dishonor  that  they  are  not 
made  vessels  of  honor,  and  not  because  they  are 
previously  destined  to  dishonor.  And  St.  Paul  dis- 
tinctly teaches  this  in  another  place,  where  he  uses 
the  very  same  figure.  "  But  in  a  great  house  there 
are  not  only  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver,  but  also 
of  wood  and  of  earth  ;  and  some  to  honor,  and  some 
to  dishonor.  If  a  man  therefore  purge  himself  from 
these  [sins],  he  shall  be  a  vessel  unto  honor,  sancti- 
fied, and  meet  for  the  master's  use,  and  prepared 
unto  every  good  work."* 

There  is  still  one  more  favorite  proof-text,  taken 
by  Calvinists  from  St.  Peter,  which  requires  to  be 
noticed.  "  The  stone  which  the  builders  disallow- 
ed, the  same  is  made  the  head  of  the  corner,  and  a 
stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence,  even  to 
them  which  stumble  at  the  word,  being  disobedi- 
ent :  whereunto  also  tJicywere  appointed." 'f  This  text 
is   easily   explained    in    conformity    with    the    true 

•  2  Tim.  ii.  21.  f  1  Peter  I!.  7,  C. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  59 

doctrine  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  teaching,  not 
that  unbelievers  are  appointed  or  predestined  to 
unbelief  in  order  that  they  may  be  ruined,  but  that 
they  are  appointed  to  stumble  over  that  stone 
which  they  have  despised  and  rejected,  as  a  punish- 
ment of  their  unbelief.  "  Whosoever  shall  fall  on 
this  stone  shall  be  broken  ;  but  on  whomsoever  it 
shall  fall,  it  will  grind  him  to  powder." 

All  these  passages  which  appear  to  contain  a 
difficulty,  and,  as  taken  singly,  are  plausibly  inter- 
preted in  their  own  sense  by  those  who  bring  to 
the  reading  of  the  Scripture  a  preconceived  Cal- 
vinistic  theory,  must  be  understood  in  a  sense 
which  harmonizes  with  all  the  rest  of  the  Scripture. 
Obscure  passages  must  be  interpreted  by  those 
which  are  perfectly  plain.  Ambiguous  passages 
must  be  interpreted  in  a  sense  consonant  to  rea- 
son, natural  theology,  and  the  analogy  of  faith. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  insist  on  the  greater  con- 
formity to  reason,  natural  theology,  and  the  ana- 
logy of  faith,  of  the  interpretation  here  given.  I 
have  also  quoted  other  passages  of  Scripture  which 
are  clear  and  easily  intelligible,  in  which  a  criterion 
for  determining  this  interpretation  as  the  only  true 
one  is  furnished.  I  will  add  one  more  from  St. 
James,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  summing  up  of 
the  whole  case,  and  is  the  more  significant  since  this 
apostle  probably  had  the  express  intention  of  con- 


6o  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

demning  the  false  interpretation  placed  by  heretics 
on  some  passages  in  St.  Paul's  Epistle  :  "  Let  no 
man  say  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of 
God  ;  for  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil, 
neither  tempteth  he  any  man."*  The  phrase  trans- 
lated "  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil  (or  evils)" 
is  ambiguous  in  the  Greek,  and  is  rendered  by  St. 
Jerome  intentator  malonim  est — i.e.,  is  not  a  tempter 
of  evils,  instead  of  intent  abUis,  or  untemptable. 
This  last  rendering,  which  is  the  same  with  that 
of  King  James's  Version,  is  followed  by  Kenrick, 
who,  with  his  usual  exquisite  and  concise  wisdom, 
explains  it  thus  :  "  God  is  not  tempted  to  evil,  and 
consequently  does  not  tempt  others.  To  solicit 
others  to  sin  implies  personal  corruption."  That  is  to 
say:  God,  as  infinitely  good  and  holy,  cannot  possibly 
will  any  evil,  or  find  anything  pleasing  to  himself  in 
the  evil  of  his  creatures.  Consequently,  he  cannot 
become  in  any  way  the  author  of  sin,  or  create  any 
rational  being  for  sin  and  evil.  Nothing  but  good 
proceeds  from  his  antecedent  will,  and,  by  his 
consequent  will,  he  can  only  permit  sin  as  the  free 
act  of  a  creature,  and  inflict  evil  on  him  as  the  just 
and  necessary  consequence  of  his  sin.  And  then 
the  apostle  goes  on  to  say:  "  Do  not  err,  my  be- 
loved brethren  [by  referring  evil  to  the  antecedent 
will  of  God,  because  no  evil  proceeds  from  it],  but 
every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above, 
'■■  St.  James  i.  13. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  61 

and  cometh  clown  from  the  Father  of  light,  with 
whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turn- 
ing ";  and  who  cannot,  therefore,  have  two  con- 
trary wills  towards  his  creatures — a  benevolent 
will  towards  some,  and  a  malevolent  will  towards 
others. 

The  grand  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  being  therefore  established  on  an  im- 
pregnable foundation,  that  God  wills  the  salvation 
of  the  human  race  as  such,  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
died  to  •  redeem  the  race,  we  are  prepared  to  con- 
sider more  closely  the  nature  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion revealed  by  the  Gospel.  All  that  theory  of 
salvation  which  is  built  on  the  false  assumption  that 
our  Lord  died  for  the  elect  only,  and  which  can- 
not subsist  without  it,  is  at  once  swept  away,  The1 
theory,  namely,  that  the  obedience  and  death  of 
the  Lord  contains  in  itself  everything  necessary  to 
secure  the  salvation  of  each  individual  who  is  re- 
deemed, is  proved  to  be  false.  It  is  admitted  and 
maintained  by  all  orthodox  Protestants,  that  all 
men  are  born  in  original  sin,  saving  certain  excep- 
tional cases,  and  that  a  very  large  number  of  the 
human  race  live  and  die  in  actual  sin,  which  is  never 
remitted  either  in  this  world  or  in  the  world  to 
come ;  that  is,  a  large  part  of  mankind  are  not 
saved.  But  as  Christ  died  for  all  men,  and  there- 
fore for  those  who  are  not  saved,  it  follows  that  the 


62  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

salvation  of  any  individual  does  not  follow  neces- 
sarily from  the  fact  that  Christ  died  for  him,  and 
that  the  race  has  been  redeemed.  But,  if  our  Lord, 
by  his  obedience  and  death,  and  by  his  personal 
merit,  fulfilled  everything  necessary  to  the  justifica- 
tion and  salvation  of  the  men  for  whom  he  died, 
every  one  of  these  must  infallibly  be  saved.  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  something  else  is  necessary 
to  the  salvation  of  an  individual  beside  the  mere 
fact  of  his  being  included  in  that  multitude  for 
whom  the  Lord  offered  up  the  sacrifice  of  his  life. 
That  the  obedience  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross,  is  the  only  meritorious 
cause  of  redemption,  remission  of  sins,  and  justi- 
fication, is  indisputable.  But  it  is  equally  evident 
that  other  causes,  subordinate  to  this,  must  concur 
with  it  to  actual  justification  and  salvation.  That 
all  men  have  been  redeemed  and  saved  by  Jesus 
Christ,  as  has  been  already  proved,  must  therefore 
mean,  in  the  first  instance,  and  irrespective  of  any 
further  conditions,  only  this  :  that  all  men  have 
been  placed  in  a  condition  in  which  salvation  is 
possible.  Original  and  actual  sin  have  been  made 
remissible  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  every  indi- 
vidual included  in  it.  Every  human  being  as  such, 
as  a  child  of  Adam  and  a  member  of  the  human 
race,  is  a  fit  and  capable  subject  of  the  grace  of 
regeneration,    whose   proper   term    is   eternal    life. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  6$ 

But  there  are  certain  conditions  to  be  verified  in 
each  particular  case ;  there  is  a  certain  way  of  sal- 
vation on  which  each  one  must  enter,  in  order  that 
the  redemption  of  the  cross  may  be  made  effectual 
to  his  actual  deliverance  from  sin  and  its  penalty, 
whether  original  or  actual. 

What  these  conditions  really  are  I  shall  proceed 
to  prove  from  the  Holy  Scripture,  taking  for  grant- 
ed, however,  all  that  is  admitted  and  maintained  by 
those  whom  I  am  specially  addressing.  Some  of 
these  conditions  depend  on  the  action  of  God, 
others  on  the  operation  of  second  causes,  and  still 
others  on  the  free  acts  of  individuals.  In  the  case  of 
all  those  to  whom  the  way  of  salvation  is  clearly  and 
distinctly  proposed,  it  is  plain  from  what  has  been 
already  proved  that  their  salvation  is  conditioned 
only  on  their  own  free  choice  and  action.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  God  wills  their  salvation,  and  that  Jesus 
Christ  has  died  in  order  to  merit  and  obtain  salvation 
for  them.  By  the  very  supposition,  there  is  no  opera- 
tion of  second  causes  hindering  the  saving  will  of 
God  from  taking  effect  upon  them,  unless  they  place 
the  obstacle  themselves.  For  they  are  supposed  to 
know,  or  to  have  the  power  of  knowing,  what  the 
way  of  salvation  is.  Whatever  depends  on  God  is 
certain  to  be  done  for  them ;  for  he  who  wills  the 
end  wills  the  means,  and  therefore  God,  who  wills 
the  end — eternal   salvation — will  furnish    sufficient 


64  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

means,  so  far  as  these  depend  on  him,  if  they  do, 
on  their  part,  what  they  are  able  and  bound  to  do. 
I  do  not  propose  to  consider  at  all  the  case  of  those 
who  are  deprived  of  the  ordinary  means  of  regene- 
ration, or  who  are  in  invincible  ignorance  of  the 
way  of  salvation,  through  the  operation  of  second 
causes  independent  of  their  own  will.  An  explana- 
tion of  the  providence  of  God  toward  such  persons, 
and  the  reconciliation  of  the  difficulties  presented 
by  it  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Scripture  that  Christ 
died  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Father  for  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  must  be  sought  elsewhere. 
My  purpose  is  to  explain  to  those  who  will  read 
this  book ;  and  who  already  believe  that  salvation  is 
of  the  free  grace  of  God,  through  the  merits  of  the 
Mediator,  Jesus  Christ,  both  God  and  man  ;  what  is 
the  full  and  complete  way  of  salvation  through 
Christ.  All  that  I  have  heretofore  proved  has  been 
proved  with  reference  to  its  special  application  to 
their  own  individual  case.  I  have  wished  to  con- 
vince them,  in  the  first  place,  that  they  are  without 
doubt  included  in  the  saving  will  of  God,  and  in  the 
intention  for  which  the  Lord  and  Saviour  of  man- 
kind sacrificed  himself  on  the  cross.  In  the  second 
place,  that  there  are  other  requisites,  besides  their 
redemption  by  the  cross,  to  their  actual  salvation. 
In  the  third  place,  that  some  of  these  requisites  or 
conditions  depend  on  their  own  free  will.      And,  in 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  65 

the  fourth  place,  that  when  they  once  know  and  de- 
sire to  enter  upon  the  true  way  of  salvation,  all  that 
is  requisite  on  the  part  of  God  will  certainly  be  sup- 
plied, if  they  fulfil  what  is  requisite  on  their  part 
by  a  right  use  of  their  free  will.  In  fine,  their  sal- 
vation depends  on  themselves,  and  is  fully  in  their 
own  power.  They  have  only  to  seek  sincerely  to 
find  the  way  of  salvation,  and  when  they  have  found 
it,  to  walk  in  it  perseveringly,  and  they  are  sure  to 
obtain  salvation  from  God,  whose  will  is  that  they 
may  be  saved,  who  has  provided  salvation  for  them 
in  Jesus  Christ,  and  who  will  infallibly  accomplish 
in  them  his  own  saving  will,  by  giving  them  grace, 
and  bringing  them  finally  to  glory  and  beatitude. 

I  have  now  to  begin  the  task  of  explaining  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  what  are  those  requisites  and 
conditions  which  constitute  the  way  of  salvation 
through  Jesus  Christ.  I  will  take  them  up  one  by 
one  in  regular  order,  beginning  with  faith  as  the 
first  requisite  to  justification,  which  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

Justification  by  Faith — The  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  Doctrine  oi 
Justification  by  Faith  alone  refuted — The  Nature  and  Office 
of  Faith  as  the  first  Prerequisite  to  Justification  explained* — 
Statement  and  Proof  of  the  Catholic  Doctrine  concerning  Sav- 
ing Faith. 

THAT  man  is  "justified  by  faith  "  is  a  theologi- 
cal axiom.  But  even  axioms  are  worthless 
unless  their  terms  are  clearly  defined.  It  is  there- 
fore absolutely  necessary  to  define  the  true  sense 
and  meaning  of  the  term  faith  as  it  is  used  in  the 
Holy  Scripture.  I  will  first  state  the  definition, 
and  afterwards  prove  from  Scripture  that  it  is  the 
true  and  correct  definition.  Faith  is  that  act  by 
which  the  intellect,  aided  by  grace,  firmly  assents  to 
the  truth  which  God  reveals,  because  he  reveals  it. 

The  most  essential  part  of  this  definition,  so  far 
as  my  present  purpose  is  concerned,  is  that  which 
fixes  upon  faith  the  sense  of  belief  in  truth  revealed 
by  God.  It  is  obvious  enough  that  it  is  commonly 
used  in  this  sense.  The  objective  matter  which 
terminates  the  act  of  believing  is  called  "  The 
Faith."  One  who  elicits  an  act, of  faith  is  said  to 
believe.      Throughout  the  New  Testament,  as  well 

66 


The    Way  of  S a  hat  ion.  67 

as  in  all  common  Christian  parlance,  these  terms 
are  used  as  correlative.  This  fact  is  by  itself  suf- 
ficient to  fix  the  technical  sense  of  the  term  faith, 
when  it  denotes  the  first  essential  prerequisite  and 
condition  of  justification.  Whoever  asserts  that  it 
has  another  sense,  is  loaded  with  the  whole  bur- 
den of  proof.  Until  the  Calvinist  adduces  clear 
proof  from  the  Scripture  that  justifying  faith  is 
something  distinct  from  belief  in  revealed  truth,  he 
is  'entitled  to  no  attention,  we  are  not  bound  to  re- 
fute him,  nor  are  we  bound  to  give  any  other 
reason  for  our  own  definition,  beyond  the  common 
and  ordinary  acceptation  of  terms  in  the  inspired 
and  uninspired  documents  of  the  Christian  religion. 

Nevertheless,  as  we  write  for  the  sake  of  instruct- 
ing enquirers  after  truth,  and  not  merely  for  confut- 
ing or  silencing  its  adversaries,  we  will  give  our 
candid  readers  a  clear  exposition  of  the  nature  of 
justifying  faith,  from  the  Scripture  itself,  and  in 
the  language  of  the  inspired  apostles  of  Christ. 

The  most  splendid  description  of  the  divine  ex- 
cellence and  effects  of  faith  ever  couched  in  the 
poor  language  of  men,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews.  It  is  the  theme  of  this  most  sub- 
lime of  all  the  compositions  of  St.  Paul,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  and  I  earnestly  exhort  every 
reader  who  wishes  to  understand  fully  the  argu- 
ment   of   this   chapter    to    read   it    through    atten- 


68  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tively  and  at  once,  in  order  that  he  may  see  the 
connection  of  thought  and  reasoning  between  its 
various  parts,  and  grasp  its  general  idea.  The 
apostle  begins  by  declaring  that  God  "  has  in  these 
last  days  spoken  to  us  by  his  Son."  The  author 
and  the  medium  of  divine  revelation  are  here  pre- 
sented, with  the  implication  that  the  revelation 
which  was  inchoate  and  imperfect  under  the  Old 
Law,  has  been  consummated  and  completed  by 
Jesus  Christ.  The  apostle  begins  the  second  chap- 
ter by  the  practical  inference  that  "  therefore  we 
ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things 
which  we  have  heard  ";  and  in  the  third  chapter 
warns  the  Hebrew  Christians  not  to  imitate  the 
example  of  their  fathers,  who  were  shut  out  of  the 
promised  land,  and  "  could  not  enter  in  because  of 
unbelief."  Continuing  the  same  subject  in  the 
fourth  chapter,  he  says  that  "  the  word  preached 
did  not  profit  them,  not  being  mixed  with  faith  in 
them  that  heard  it,"  and  concludes  with  this  ex- 
hortation :  "  Seeing  then  that  we  have  a  great  high- 
priest,  that  is  passed  into  the  heavens,  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  profession." 

After  reproaching  them  with  their  dulness  and 
weakness  of  faith,  by  reason  of  which,  he  tells  them 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  chapter,  "  ye  have  need  that 
one  teach  you  again  which  be  the  first  principles  of 
the  oracles  of  God,"  he  exhorts  them,  in  the  sixth, 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  69 

to  "  be  not  slothful,  but  followers  of  them  who 
through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises." 
In  this  connection  he  brings  out  the  ground  of  the 
infallible  certitude  of  faith,  which  is  the  veracity  of 
God  and  the  clearness  of  the  revelation  which  he 
has  made  of  the  truths  believed  by  the  faithful. 
"God,  willing  more  abundantly  to  show  unto  the 
heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of  his  counsel, 
confirmed  it  by  an  oath  :  that  by  two  immutable 
things  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we 
might  have  a  strong  consolation."  In  the  tenth 
chapter  he  makes  another  exhortation  to  firm  faith 
in  the  divine  truths,  chiefly  relating  to  the  Incarna- 
tion and  Redemption,  which  he  has  been  continu 
ally  developing  from  the  beginning  of  the  Epistle. 
"  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assur- 
ance of  faith.  .  .  .  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profes- 
sion of  our  faith  without  wavering.  .  .  .  Now 
the  just  shall  live  by  faith  ;  but  if  any  man  draw 
back,  my  soul  shall  have  no  pleasure  in  him.  But 
we  are  not  of  them  who  draw  back  unto  perdition, 
but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul." 

The  teaching  of  St.  Paul  concerning  faith  culmi- 
nates in  the  eleventh  chapter,  which  he  begins  by  a 
descriptive  definition  of  faith.  "  Now  faith  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen."  This  translation  is  as  good  and 
literal  a  rendering  as  we  can  have  of  the  Greek,  and 


jo  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

agrees  closely  with  the  Latin.  The  idea  presented 
is  perfectly  clear — viz.,  that  faith  is  that  light  which 
gives  the  human  intellect  a  certain,  subjective  ap- 
prehension of  the  objective  realities  of  the  super- 
natural order.  In  plainer  language,  faith  makes 
real  to  the  mind  of  man  the  revealed  truths  and 
mysteries  of  God.  To  borrow  Dr.  Newman's  ex- 
pression, it  is  a  "  real  assent  "  to  truths  about  divine 
things  which  are  either  dimly  visible  or  totally  in- 
visible to  the  naked  eye  of  reason.  I  have,  there- 
fore, demonstrated  the  truth  and  correctness  of  the 
definition  which  I  gave  of  faith  at  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter — a  definition  which  is  essentially  the 
same  with  that  given  by  St.  Paul,  differing  from  it 
only  in  its  substitution  of  scientific  for  descriptive 
terms. 

The  apostle  goes  on  to  say  that  "  through  faith 
we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the 
word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were 
not  made  of  things  which  do  appear."  This  is  an 
illustration  of  the  definition  already  given.  Faith 
is  belief  in  revealed  truth,  and  one  of  the  first 
doctrines  of  revealed  truth  is  the  creation  of  the 
world  out  of  nothing  by  the  power  of  God.  The 
apostle  then  cites  Abel  as  an  example  of  faith, 
evidently  because  of  the  profession  which  he  made 
of  his  belief  in  the  Redeemer  to  come,  through  his 
bloody  sacrifice,     lie  next  cites   Enoch,  and  gives 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  71 

an  indirect  and  inferential  proof  of  his  faith,  which 
furnishes  us  with  another  most  clear  and  irrefrag- 
able evidence  of  the  real  nature  of  faith,  as  well  as 
with  a  succinct  statement  of  its  formal  object.  He 
proves  that  Enoch  had  faith,  from  the  testimony 
of  Scripture  that  he  pleased  God.  "  But  without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  him  :  for  he  that 
cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is 
a  rezuarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him."  The 
brilliant  constellation  of  martyrs,  prophets,  and 
saints  to  whom  St.  Paul  directs  our  gaze  in  lan- 
guage of  unequalled  eloquence  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  chapter,  are  examples  of  the  same 
firm  belief  in  the  word  and  truth  of  God,  revealing 
to  them  the  supernatural  blessings  contained  in  the 
Incarnation,  Redemption,  and  Resurrection  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  in  the  divine  economy  of  grace. 
The  twelfth  chapter  is  an  application  of  the  lessons 
taught  by  the  faith  of  the  fathers  to  their  children, 
the  Hebrew  Christians,  and  it  winds  up  by  the 
exhortation  :  "  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that 
speaketh  :  for  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused  him 
that  spake  on  earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape, 
if  we  turn  away  from  him  that  speaketh  from 
heaven." 

I  have  already  quoted  enough  from  the  doctrinal 
teaching  of  St.  Paul  to  fully  answer  my  purpose. 
But   I   will  add  one  more   passage  equally  full  and 


72  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

strong  from  another  Epistle.  In  the  tenth  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Roman  Church,  the  apostle 
expressly  describes  that  faith  which  is  the  root 
and  ground  of  true  justification,  as  distinguished 
from  the  pretended  justice  which  is  based  on  a 
mere  outward  observance  of  Jewish  rites,  or  on 
purely  natural  virtue.  "  The  righteousness  which 
is  of  faith  speaketh  on  this  wise,  Say  not  in  thine 
heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven  ?  etc.  But 
what  saith  it  ?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy 
mouth,  and  in  thy  heart :  that  is,  the  word  of  faith, 
which  we  preach  ;  that  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy 
month  the  Lord  Jesns,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine 
heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness  ;  and  with  the  mouth  confession 
is  made  unto  salvation."  Evidently,  the  faith  from 
which  springs  this  righteousness  and  justification  is  a 
belief  in  the  message  of  God  given  through  Christ 
and  the  apostles,  the  outward  manifestation  of 
which  is  a  public  confession  of  the  creed  or  faith  of 
the  apostles. 

It  is  plain  from  this  definition  of  the  essence  and 
nature  of  faith  that  it  is  not  alone  and  separate  from 
other  prerequisites  and  conditions  sufficient  to  jus- 
tification. It  is  impossible  to  maintain  the  heresy 
of  justification  by  faith  alone  without  completely 
altering  the   notion  of  faith  which  is  given  by  the 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  j$ 

teaching  of  Holy  Scripture.  The  false  notion  of 
faith  and  justification  invented  by  Luther  and  sup- 
ported by  a  gross  falsification  of  the  text  of  St.  Paul 
in  his  German  translation,  but  more  logically  elabo- 
rated by  Calvin,  is  based  on  the  doctrine  that  Christ 
died  for  the  elect  only,  their  sins  being  imputed  to 
him,  and  his  righteousness  imputed  to  them.  Ac- 
cording to  this  heretical  doctrine,  justifying  faith  is 
a  belief  infused  by  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  soul  of 
an  elect  person  that  Christ  died  for  him,  and  that 
as  a  necessary  consequence  his  sins  are  remitted, 
and  a  right  to  eternal  life  is  conveyed  to  him,  once 
for  all,  without  any  need  of  anything  further  being 
done  in  order  to  the  completeness  of  his  justifica- 
tion, or  any  danger  that  he  may  ever  lose  it.  The 
very  groundwork  of  this  gross  and  deadly  heresy 
has  been  completely  removed  in  our  first  chapter. 
In  that,  I  have  proved  that  Christ  died  for  all  men. 
No  one  can  infer,  therefore,  from  the  certitude  of 
his  belief,  that  Christ  died  for  him  as  one  of  the 
human  race ;  that  his  sins  are  remitted  ;  that  he  is 
justified  ;  that  he  is  predestined  ;  or  that  he  will  be 
finally  saved.  Faith  teaches  each  one  who  believes, 
the  way  of  salvation,  gives  him  the  motive  of  work- 
ing out  his  salvation,  and  furnishes  him  with  a 
supernatural  principle  of  activity,  a  disposition  for 
receiving  the  grace  which  justifies,  a  light  and  im- 
pulse to  direct  and  stimulate  him  in  corresponding 


74  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

with  grace;  but  does  not  of  itself  justify  a  sinner. 
One  who  thinks  and  judges  candidly  and  sincerely 
must  necessarily  admit  this  conclusion.  I  have 
proved  beyond  a  cavil  that  faith  is  belief  in  the 
truth  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  proposed  by 
him  to  all  men.  The  summary  of  this  truth  is  the 
creed  of  the  apostles,  as  all  Christians  admit.  No 
one  can  pretend  that  a  man  is  justified  and  rendered 
secure  of  salvation  by  simply  believing  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed.  The  belief  and  confession  of  the  Chris- 
tian and  Catholic  faith,  which  is  briefly  summarized 
in  this  creed,  is  a  condition  sine  qua  non  to  salvation, 
but  not  the  sole  condition.  The  man  who  believes 
in  his  heart  and  confesses  with  his  mouth  the  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ  will  be  saved,  if  he  acts  in  a  manner 
consistent  with  his  profession,  if  he  carries  out  his 
faith  into  obedience  to  the  law  of  Christ,  but  not 
otherwise.  This  is  obvious  and  certain,  and  no  per- 
son capable  of  reasoning  can  dispute  it  with  a  good 
conscience.  But  I  will  nevertheless  prove  it  in  an 
explicit  manner  from  the  Scripture. 

Those  who  have  a  strong  faith,  but  weak  virtue, 
frequently  fall  into  the  practical  error  of  trusting  to 
their  faith  as  a  substitute  for  good  works.  It  seems 
that  some  persons  of  that  sort  took  advantage  of 
certain  expressions  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to 
avow  boldly  in  the  form  of  a  false  doctrine  this  fatal 
practical  delusion  of  all  times.     St.  James  of  Jem- 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  75 

salem  wrote  his  Epistle  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
condemning  this  perversion  of  St.  Paul's  doctrine,  and 
of  making  a  more  explicit  and  clear  statement  of  the 
relation  between  faith  and  works  than  that  which  St. 
Paul  had  been  called  on,  by  the  nature  of  the  topics 
concerning  which  he  was  treating,  to  set  forth.  The 
following  is  the  language  which  he  uses,  so  plain 
and  unmistakable,  that  although  the  malice  and 
sophistry  of  heresy  have  wrested  and  perverted  it 
like  everything  else  in  Scripture,  the  blunt,  auda- 
cious common  sense  of  Luther  would  not  permit 
him  to  see  in  it  anything  but  a  direct  opposite  to 
his  own  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone ; 
wherefore  he  rejected  the  whole  Epistle  from  his 
self-made  canon. 

"  What  doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a 
man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not  works  ?  can 
faitJi  save  him  ?  .  .  .  Faith,  if  it  have  not 
works,  is  dead,  being  alone.  Thou  believest  that 
there  is  one  God  ;  thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also 
believe  and  tremble.  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain 
man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead  ?  .  .  .  . 
You  see  then  how  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified, 
and  not  by  faith  only.  .  .  .  For  as  the  body 
without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works 
is  dead  also."  * 

*  St.  James  ii.  14-26. 


76  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

St.  James  is  undoubtedly  here  using  the  word  faith 
in*the  sense  of  the  definition  I  have  already  given — 
of  belief  in  divine  truth.  But,  although  his  direct 
and  immediate  object  is  to  prove  that  a  man  is  not 
justified  by  a  sound  and  orthodox  belief  alone,  the 
proof  is  equally  conclusive  against  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  alone,  taken  in  any  sense 
which  separates  it  from  obedience  to  the  law  of 
God.  For  he  expressly  teaches  "  that  by  works  a 
man  is  justified,"  and  therefore,  let  faith  be  what  it 
may — trust  in  the  merits  of  Christ,  confidence  in  the 
mercy  of  God,  a  conviction  that  one  is  in  the  state  of 
grace,  hope  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  final  sal- 
vation, or  any  other  form  of  personal  and  individual 
application  to  one's  self  of  the  promises  of  God — it 
remains  as  a  truth  taught  by  inspiration  in  the 
Scripture,  that  a  man  is  justified  by  works,  and  that 
nothing  is  sufficient  to  justify  him  which  is  separate 
from  the  inward,  operative  principle  which  produces 
good  works.  Any  assertion  that  faith  alone  justi- 
fies is  therefore  directly  in  the  teeth  of  St.  James's 
declaration. 

It  is  true  that  some  persons  explain  faith  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  it  include  both  hope  and  charity, 
and  assert  justification  by  faith  alone  in  that  sense. 
But  these  persons  really  do  not  hold  any  doctrine 
essentially  different  from  the  Catholic  doctrine  on 
this  point.     They  mean   by  faith  a  complex  prin- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  77 

ciple,  which  is  called  in  Catholic  language  fides 
formata — that  is,  faith  informed  or  animated  by 
the  love  of  God,  and  actually  operative  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  divine  law.  In  this  sense  faith  is  the 
adequate  and  complete  inward  principle  of  justifica- 
tion and  of  sanctification.  It  alone  justifies,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  every  other  species  of  righteous- 
ness, or  holiness,  or  virtue,  or  reason  of  any  kind 
for  claiming  the  favor  of  God  and  the  approbation 
of  conscience,  which  does  not  proceed  from  faith  as 
its  root.  But  this  is  a  wide  and  improper  sense 
in  which  faith  is  taken,  and  not  the  strict  and 
proper  sense.  Strictly  speaking,  faith  is  distinct 
from  hope  and  charity,  even  in  the  justified  man, 
although  not  separated  from  them.  "  Now  abideth 
these  three,  faith,  hope,  and  charity ;  but  the  great- 
est of  these  is  charity."  *  Christian  hope  and 
charity  cannot  exist  without  faith,  from  which  they 
proceed.  But  faith  can  subsist  without  either  hope 
or  charity,  and  hope  can  subsist  without  charity. 
The  quality  which  makes  hope  a  fit  disposition  to 
justification  is  received  from  faith,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  charity.  We  are  therefore  justified  by 
faith  in  this  sense :  that  faith,  joined  with  the  other 
prerequisites,  disposes  the  soul  for  justification,  and 
that  faith  is  the  root  and  principle  of  those  other 

*  1  Cor.  siii.  13. 


78  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

prerequisites — viz.,  hope  and  charity.  This  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  which  explains 
justification  by  faith  as  follows:  "When,  there- 
fore, the  apostle  says  that  man  is  justified  by  faith 
and  gratuitously,  these  words  are  to  be  understood 
in  this  sense,  which  the  perpetual  consent  of  the 
Catholic  Church  has  held  and  expressed,  to  wit,  that 
we  are  said  to  be  justified  by  faith  for  this  reason  : 
because  faith  is  the  beginning  of  human  salvation, 
the  foundation  and  root  of  all  justification,  without 
which  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  and  attain  to 
the  fellowship  of  his  children  ;  but  we  are  said  to 
be  justified  gratuitously  because  none  of*  those 
things  which  precede*  justification,  whether  faith  or 
works,  merit  the  grace  itself  of*justification."  * 

In  the  light  of  this  explanation  of  the  true  sense 
of  St.  Paul  and  of  the  other  inspired  writers,  all 
the  difficulties  which  beset  certain  parts  of  the 
apostle's  teaching  vanish  like  mists  before  the  sun. 
Any  person  who  will  apply  this  key  to  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul,  in  which  he  places  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  faith  in  opposition  to  that  which  is  by 
the  works  of  the  law,  will  unlock  all  their  perplexi- 
ties, and  perceive  the  perfect  agreement  between  St. 
Paul  and  St.  James.  St.  Paul  proves,  in  opposition 
to   the   Jews,  that  the  works  of  the  law — circumci- 

*  Sess.  vi.  c.  8. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  79 

sion,  sacrifice,  the  observance  of  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies, and  the  worship  of  one  God — have  no  intrinsic 
power  or  efficacy,  as  separated  from  the  merit  of 
the  obedience  and  death  of  Christ,  to  justify  a 
sinner.  But  he  does  not  teach  that,  when  per- 
formed in  the  spirit  of  faith,  they  were  not,  through 
the  merits  of  Christ,  the  appointed  means  and  con- 
ditions of  obtaining  justification  through  the  grace 
of  God  so  long  as  the  law  continued  in  force.  He 
proves  that  the  philosophical  virtues  of  the  heathen 
had  no  intrinsic  force  of  justification.  But  he  does 
not  teach  that  these  purely  natural  virtues  were  not 
a  negative  preparation  for  the  grace  of  faith,  or 
that  those  who  had  faith  under  the  law  of  nature 
were  not  justified  by  the  merits  of  Christ,  through 
the  means  of  a  compliance  with  the  dictates  of  the 
natural  law  written  in  their  hearts.  He  teaches 
that  those  who  have  received  the  law  of  Christ  do 
not  merit  the  grace  of  justification  by  any  works 
which  they  do  before  they  are  justified.  But  he 
does  not  teach  that  these  works,  performed  in  the 
spirit  of  faith  and  obedience,  are  not  the  essential 
prerequisites  and  conditions  of  obtaining  a  free  jus- 
tification through  the  merits  of  Christ.  This  is  the 
only  point  under  discussion  at  present.  It  is  agreed 
on  both  sides  that  salvation  is  a  gratuitous  work,  or 
grace  of  God  toward  men  ;  that  the  sins  of  those 
men  who   are  justified,  whether  original  or  actual, 


80  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

are  forgiven  on  account  of  the  expiation  which 
Jesus  Christ  has  accomplished  on  the  cross  ;  and 
that  grace,  justification,  and  salvation  are  granted 
to  all  those  who  are  saved,  on  account  of  the  merits 
of  Christ.  The  only  question  is,  respecting  the 
conditions  or  prerequisites  by  which  an  individual 
is  disposed  and  made  fit  to  receive  justifying  grace, 
and  the  instrumental  causes  or  means  by  which  this 
grace  is  actually  communicated  to  him.  The  first 
of  these  is  faith,  which  I  have  proved  to  be  a  firm 
belief  in  the  revelation  which  God  has  made.  I 
have  also  proved  that  other  acts,  operations,  or 
works  of  the  mind  and  will  of  man,  under  the  ex- 
citing influence  of  divine  grace,  are  necessary  to 
perfect  and  complete  faith.  And  I  shall  now  pro- 
ceed to  prove  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  especially  from  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  what  are  these  other  prerequisites  and  instru- 
mental causes  of  justification. 


CHAPTER   THIRD. 

Other  Prerequisites  of  Justification — Repentance  and  Conversion 
to  God — The  Formal  Cause  and  the  Instruments  of  Justifica- 
tion— Regeneration  and  Sanctifying  Grace — The  Sacraments 
Instruments  of  Grace — Baptism  the  Sacrament  of  Regeneration. 

THE  Calvinistic  heresy  leaves  intact  the  great 
articles  of  the  Creed  and  of  the  Catholic 
faith  which  are  immediately  related  to  God  and 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  it  subverts  from  the 
foundation  all  that  part  of  the  faith  which  relates 
to  the  divine  operation  of  the  Mediator  through 
secondary  causes  a^jd  instruments,  by  which  he 
effects  the  regeneration  and  exaltation  of  the  race 
which  he  has  redeemed.  In  regard  to  all  this  por- 
tion of  the  system  of  Christianity,  it  is  the  most 
radical  of  heresies,  because  it  denies  the  very  prin- 
ciple on  which  it  is  based,  and  substitutes  another 
which  is  totally  opposite  and  contrary.  This  false 
principle  is  the  doctrine  which  I  have  already  re- 
futed— that  man  is  justified  by  faith  alone.*  The 
Calvinist  constructs  this  doctrine  from  certain  per- 
verted and  misinterpreted  texts  of  Scripture,  with 
which  he  forms  by  his  own  private  judgment,  or 
rather,  in   most  cases,   by  a  blind  following  of  the 


82  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

private  judgment  of  his  unauthorized  teachers,  a 
system  of  his  own,  which  to  certain  minds  is  the 
most  captivating  of  all  errors,  partly  on  account  of 
its  logical  coherence  and  completeness,  and  partly 
on  account  of  the  perfect  security  and  assurance  of 
salvation  on  easy  terms  with  which  it  dazzles  and 
deludes  its  victims.  The  man  who  fancies  that  a 
certain  feeling  or  state  of  his  soul,  which  he  calls 
faith,  justifies  him  at  once,  completely,  and  for  ever, 
giving  him  a  sure  sign  that  he  has  been  absolutely 
predestined  and  elected  to  salvation,  freeing  him  in 
an  instant  from  the  imputation  of  all  past  and  future 
sin,  and  clothing  him  with  a  spotless  robe  of  right- 
eousness, which  he  is  equally  incapable  of  staining 
by  guilt  or  making  more  brilliant  by  merit,  naturally 
and  logically  concludes  that  he^has  no  need  of  any- 
thing else,  and  cannot  profit  by  anything  whatever, 
whether  in  .heaven  or  on  the  earth.  He  needs  no 
teacher,  no  priest,  no  intercessor,  no  sacraments, 
no  church.  Faith  gives  him  everything  ;  and  even  his 
peccadilloes  or  his  more  grievous  delinquencies  give 
him  no  just  occasion  for  alarm  or  anxiety.  So  long 
as  the  mind  of  a  man  is  possessed  by  this  persuasion 
or  conviction,  he  cannot  be  reached  by  argument, 
or  even  induced  to  pay  attention  to,  much  less 
examine,  the  grounds  and  reasons  on  which  the 
Catholic  doctrine  presents  its  claim  to  a  hearing. 
Of  what  use  is  it  for  a  man  who  already  possesses 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  8$ 

the  secret  of  the  king  to  listen  to  men  who  offer  to 
explain  to  him  the  royal  will  and  intention,  or  the 
way  of  gaining  the  royal  favor,  even  if  they  profess 
to  be  his  ministers  ?  A  firm  and  decided  Calvinist 
will  not  even  pay  attention  to  the  inspired  apostles 
themselves,  or  give  heed  to  the  plain  teachings  of 
the  Holy  Scripture.  His  chosen  texts  are  the  pith 
and  marrow  of  Scripture  for  him.  Upon  these  he 
dwells  ;  they  are  for  him,  as  it  were,  in  large 
capitals ;  the  rest  is  glided  over,  or  glossed  and 
twisted  into  forced  conformity  with  his  perverted 
sense  of  isolated  texts. 

But  I  beg  leave  to  represent  to  those  who  are 
conscientious  and  reasonable,  even  though  they 
have  imbibed  Calvin  is  tic  doctrines  from  their  early 
teaching,  that  this  course  is  wrong  and  inconsis- 
tent. One  who  professes  to  believe  that  "  all 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable  for  doctrine,"  is  bound  to  pay  as  much 
reverence  to  one  portion  of  it  as  to  another.  One 
who  believes  that  it  is  his  duty  to  read  and  examine 
it  for  himself  is  bound  to  consider,  compare,  and 
weigh  all  its  doctrinal  statements,  and  to  interpret 
them  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  be  consistent 
and  harmonious  with  each  other.  I  am  about  to 
cite  a  number  of  these  passages  which  cannot  possi- 
bly be  reconciled  with  the  Calvinistic  interpretation 
of  the  texts  in  which  the  office  of  faith  in  justifica- 


84  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tion  is  set  forth.  They  are  utterly  contradictory  to 
every  possible  interpretation  of  the  Scripture  teach- 
ing respecting  faith  and  justification,  except  the  one 
which  I  have  proposed.  And  therefore,  although 
I  have  proved  sufficiently  the  Catholic  doctrine,  so 
far  as  I  have  gone,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  the 
proofs  I  am  now  going  to  adduce  are  a  distinct  and 
independent  demonstration  of  the  same,  as  well  as 
an  additional  evidence  of  the  truth  in  respect  to 
new  points  not  yet  discussed.  These  proofs  begin 
at  the  point  already  reached — viz.,  that  the  sinner 
makes  the  first  step  toward  obtaining  remission 
and  grace  by  believing  the  word  of  God  which  is 
preached  to  him  by  Jesus  Christ  and  his  appointed 
ministers.  This  word  contains  the  revelation  of  the 
way  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  As  the  man 
who  comes  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  is 
the  rewarder  of  them  who  diligently  seek  him,  even 
under  the  dim  light  of  the  natural  law,  so  the  one 
who  hears  the  clear  and  distinct  voice  of  the  Gospel 
must  believe  that  "  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them ;  and  hath  committed  unto  us 
[the  apostles]  the  word  of  reconciliation."  The 
next  step  which  the  believing  hearer  of  the  word 
from  the  mouth  of  an  apostle  had  to  take  was  to 
beg  him  to  exercise  his  ministry  of  reconciliation 
toward  himself.     "  We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ," 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  95 

says  St.  Paul,  "  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by 
us  :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God."  *  The  person  who,  recognizing  the  fact 
of  a  positive,  or  at  least  a  negative,  alienation  of  his 
soul  from  God,  desired  to  close  with  this  offer  to 
make  his  peace  with  the  Divine  Majesty,  must 
necessarily  treat  with  his  ambassador.  He  would 
ask  from  him  the  conditions  of  peace,  the  terms  of 
reconciliation.  The  ambassador,  having  invited  the 
enemies  of  his  sovereign  to  a  reconciliation,  is  in  duty 
bound  to  make  known  to  them  in  clear  and  precise 
terms  what  these  conditions  are.  Without  any 
doubt,  the  very  first  instructions  given  to  their 
neophytes  by  the  apostles  contained  a  full  expla- 
nation of  the  conditions  they  must  comply  with  in 
order  to  obtain  the  grace  of  God  and  justification. 
A  Protestant  is  bound  to  believe  that  these  instruc- 
tions have  been  distinctly  and  completely  recorded 
in  the  New  Testament — the  only  means,  according 
to  him,  which  God  has  provided  for  us,  since  the 
death  of  the  inspired  authors  of  that  sacred  collec- 
tion, in  order  that  we  may  know  what  these  condi- 
tions are. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  in  proving  that 
repentance  from  sin  and  conversion  to  God  are  con- 
ditions  of  salvation   through    Jesus   Christ.      The 

*  2  Cor.  v.  19,  20. 


86  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

strictest  Calvinist  will  admit  this,  and  even  maintain 
it  strongly,  notwithstanding  his  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone.  In  theory,  he  maintains  that 
faith,  as  distinct  from  the  love  of  God,  is  the  sole 
instrument  of  justification  ;  yet  he  does  not  hold  that 
it  can  be  true,  justifying  faith,  separate  from  love. 
Practically,  Calvinists  generally  make  repentance 
and  conversion,  or  a  change  of  heart,  the  means 
and  the  test  of  the  passage  from  the  state  of  death 
to  the  state  of  life.  Those  who  are  not  strict  Cal- 
vinists, and  who,  with  more  or  less  explicitness,  un- 
derstand by  saving  faith  fides  formata,  or  faith 
informed  by  love,  invariably  make  repentance  and 
conversion  the  conditions  of  reconciliation  with  God, 
and  the  whole  scope  of  their  preaching  is  directed 
toward  the  end  of  awakening  their  hearers  to  a  sense 
of  their  lost  condition  as  sinners,  and  an  earnest 
effort  to  obtain  salvation  from  sin  and  its  penalties 
by  contrition  for  the  past,  and  a  sincere  purpose  of 
living  a  new  life  in  the  future.  I  may  therefore  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  apostles  taught  those  who 
believed  their  word,  and  who  desired  to  act  on  that 
belief,  that  they  must  repent  of  their  sins,  resolve 
to  sin  no  more,  and  begin  to  direct  their  intention 
and  their  actions  toward  their  chief  end,  which  is 
"  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy  him  for  ever."  This 
resolution  virtually  includes  obedience  to  all  the 
commandments  of  God.     He   who   wills   the    end 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  Sy 

wills  the  means.  Whoever  professes  that  he  makes 
it  the  end  of  his  life  to  glorify  God  here,  in  order 
that  he  may  be  glorified  and  beatified  by  him  in 
eternity,  must  prove  the  reality  of  his  purpose  by 
keeping  that  law  which  God  has  laid  down  as  the  way 
by  which  this  end  must  be  attained.  The  only  point 
which  can  be  considered  at  all  is,  whether  there  are 
precepts  in  the  law  of  Christ  requiring  something 
more  than  the  mere  internal  acts  of  faith,  hope,  and 
charity  as  the  condition  of  being  made  just  and 
holy,  a  friend  and  child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of 
heaven.  These  internal  acts  undoubtedly  comprise 
all  the  dispositions  which  are  requisite  to  prepare 
the  soul  for  the  grace  of  God.  But  it  is  necessary 
that  the  soul  should  receive  this  grace,  as  well  as  be 
prepared  and  disposed  for  it.  I  am  speaking  now 
of  a  person  who  is  still  unregenerate,  but  who  de- 
sires to  receive  the  gift  of  regeneration,  to  obtain 
justification,  to  be  reconciled  with  God,  and  ad- 
mitted to  the  fellowship  of  his  Son  by  adoption 
through  his  grace.  Nothing  which  is  done  before 
regeneration  can  have  any  efficacy  to  efface  sin  or 
unite  the  soul  with  God.  By  faith  the  soul  looks 
toward  God  as  the  author  of  grace  and  salvation. 
By  hope  it  expects  to  receive  from  him  this  grace. 
By  that  charity  which  it  is  capable  of  exercising 
through  the  aid  of  prevenient  grace  before  regenera- 
tion, and  which  is  not  filial,  but  only  initial  and  ser- 


88  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

vile  love,  or  rather  the  fear  of  God,  it  turns  its 
purpose  and  intention  from  the  pleasures  of  sin  to 
the  eternal  good.  These  are  conditions  precedent 
to  regeneration  and  sanctification  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  actual  communication  of  the  sancti- 
fying grace  requires  a  distinct  and  positive  act  of 
God,  by  which  he  infuses  into  the  soul  his  divine 
gifts,  stamps  his  likeness  upon  it,  and  elevates  it  to 
a  participation  with  his  own  nature.  All  this  will 
be  admitted  by  the  disciples  of  the  old  Lutheran 
and  Calvinistic  confessions.  I  will  therefore  take  it 
for  granted  for  the  present,  and  those  who  have 
abandoned  or  lost  this  old  doctrine  of  their  fathers 
may  find  it  sufficiently  proved  from  the  Scripture  in 
the  course  of  what  is  to  follow  hereafter. 

The  question  to  be  considered  is  whether  the 
apostles  taught  their  catechumens  to  expect  this 
illapse  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  take  place  immediately 
in  their  souls  after  they  had  inwardly  converted 
themselves  to  God,  or  taught  them  to  resort  to  the 
sacraments  as  a  medium  and  instrumental  cause 
of  sanctifying  grace.  This  question  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  answer  in  such  a  way  as  to  satisfy  com- 
pletely any  one  who  will  calmly  and  attentively 
consider  certain  very  clear  texts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, with  his  mind  disposed  to  believe  them  in 
their  plain,  obvious  sense,  without  regard  to  his 
preconceived  opinions.     St.  Paul  is  particularly  ex- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  89 

plicit  and  distinct  in  his  teaching  on  this  subject, 
and,  when  he  speaks  about  the  sacraments,  his 
language  is  by  no  means  "  hard  to  be  understood  "  ; 
although  experience  shows  that  it  is  easy  to  be 
passed  over  and  neglected  by  those  whose  whole 
attention  is  absorbed  by  the  most  obscure,  abstruse, 
and  difficult  portions  of  his  writings. 

The  apostles,  as  I  have  already  said,  must  have 
given  their  catechumens,  at  the  very  beginning  of 
their  Christian  life,  explicit  and  full  instructions 
upon  these  topics,  as  being  the  very  first  principles 
of  Christian  doctrine.  And  St.  Paul  declares  this 
expressly,  at  the  same  time  distinctly  mentioning 
some  of  these  primary  principles,  in  a  passage  which 
has  been  already  cited  in  another  connection.  It  is 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  forms  one 
of  those  digressions  into  which  the  genius  of  his 
mind  often  led  him,  and  which  are  often  among 
the  passages  of  his  writings  which  are  the  most 
fraught  with  instruction  and  eloquence.  "  Ye 
have  need,"  he  says,  "  that  one  teach  you  again 
which  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God."  He  calls  them  reprovingly  mere  Christian 
babes — that  is,  children  or  neophytes  in  the.  first  class 
of  the  catechism.  He  reminds  them  that  they  learn- 
ed their  catechism  a  long  time  ago,  when  they  were 
young  in  the  faith  and  needed  to  be  fed  with  the 
milk  of  the  word.     And  he  exhorts  them  to  00  for- 


90  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

ward,  to  ascend  into  a  higher  grade  of  Christian 
knowledge  :  "  Therefore  leaving  the  principles  of 
the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  unto  perfection  ; 
not  laying  again  the  foundation  of  repentance  from 
dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God,  of  the  doctrine 
'of  baptisms,  and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment."* 
The  "  doctrine  of  baptisms  "  is  evidently  the  in- 
struction concerning  the  nature  of  the  sacrament  of 
baptism,  the  way  to  receive  it  worthily,  and  the 
privileges  and  obligations  involved  in  its  reception. 
The  use  of  the  plural  number  appears  strange  and 
puzzling  at  first  sight.  But  St.  Paul  was  writing  to 
converted  Jews  who  were  familiar  with  a  similar  rite 
in  the  Old  Law,  and  knew  of,  if  they  had  not  receiv- 
ed, the  baptism  of  John.  Wherefore  the  instruction 
concerning  baptism  necessarily  included  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  difference  which  distinguished  the  Chris- 
tian sacrament  from  all  other  ceremonial  ablutions, 
and  this  explains  the  reason  for  using  the  plural  in- 
stead of  the  singular  term,  baptism.  "  Laying  on  of 
hands  "  can  mean  nothing  else  than  the  sacrament 
of  confirmation.  We  see,  then,  most  clearly,  with 
what  milk  the  apostles  fed  their  Christian  babes.  The 
whole  passage  is  unintelligible  on  the  Calvin istic  the- 
ory. It  is  irreconcilable  with  the  Calvinistic  doctrine. 
It  teaches  plainly  the  doctrine  I  have  already  estab- 

*  Jleb.  v.  12  ;  vi.  I,  2. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  91 

lished  concerning  faith  and  the  other  prerequisites 
to  justification.  And  it  teaches,  further,  the  pri- 
mary importance  of  the  sacraments,  by  classing 
the  doctrine  concerning  baptism  and  confirmation 
among  the  "  first  principles,"  together  with  faith 
and  repentance.  This  is  incompatible  with  any 
kind  of  Protestant  doctrine  in  which  the  grace  of 
the  sacraments,  and  their  office  as  instrumental 
causes  of  sanctification,  are  denied.  Mere  ceremonies 
or  outward  rites,  which  signify,  but  do  not  confer, 
spiritual  grace,  are  things  of  minor  importance. 
And  the  context  which  follows  evidently  implies 
that  the  converts  of  the  apostles  had  been  taught  by 
them  to  regard  the  sacraments  of  baptism,  confirma- 
tion, and  the  Holy  Eucharist  as  operative  means 
of  sanctification  :  "  For  it  is  impossible  for  those 
who  were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the 
heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if  they  shall  fall 
away,  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance."  The 
term  "  enlightened,"  as  every  one  who  has  read 
anything  of  primitive  Christianity  knows,  is  one 
of  the  specific  terms  appropriated  to  those  who 
have  received  baptism.  The  "  heavenly  gift "  is 
manifestly  the  Holy  Eucharist ;  and  the  means  of 
being  made  "  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  is 
shown  to  be  the  sacrament  of  confirmation  by  the 


92  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

connection  of  this  passage  with  the  one  in  which  the 
laying  on  of  hands  is  spoken  of.  Let  it  be  observ- 
ed that  all  these  things  are  distinguished  from  the 
"word  of  God,"  and  cannot  therefore  refer  to  faith 
or  to  mere  internal  acts  excited  by  the  preaching 
of  the  word.  I  repeat  it :  this  whole  passage  is  ut- 
terly irreconcilable  with  any  Calvinistic  or  pretend- 
ed evangelical  theory  which  is  based  on  Luther's 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  and  excludes 
moral  sanctity  and  sacramental  grace  from  a 
share  in  justification.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  clear, 
harmonious,  intelligible,  and  full  of  meaning  and 
force  so  soon  as  it  is  read  in  the  light  of  Catho- 
lic doctrine. 

The  Catholic  catechumen  who  is  under  instruc- 
tion from  a  priest  in  the  principles  of  Catholic  faith 
and  practice  is  carefully  taught  the  necessity  and 
the  mode  of  reforming  his  life  and  renouncing  all  sins 
and  vicious  habits.  He  is  instructed  in  the  articles 
of  the  faith  as  contained  in  the  Creed  and  in  the 
capital  points  of  Christian  doctrine.  He  is  taught 
the  nature  and  efficacy  of  the  sacraments,  especially 
baptism,  confirmation,  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and 
the  way  of  preparing  to  receive  them  worthily. 
The  future  life  is  placed  before  his  eyes  as  the  end 
of  his  existence  here,  and  he  is  admonished  of  the 
judgment  which  he  must  undergo  when  his  proba- 
tion is  finished.     When   he   has  received  the  sacra- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  93 

ments,  he  is  admonished  to  aim  at  Christian  perfec- 
tion by  the  diligent  use  of  the  means  of  grace,  the 
acquisition  of  virtue  and  holiness,  and  the  practice 
of  good  works. 

Precisely  in  the  same  manner  does  St.  Paul  de- 
scribe the  manner  in  which  the  apostles  were^  accus- 
tomed to  instruct  their  neophytes  in  the  "  princi- 
ples of  the  doctrine  of  Christ."  The  first  thing  is 
14  repentance  from  dead  works  "  ;  turning  away  from 
the  works  of  the  dead — that  is,  deadly  sins — and 
merely  natural  good  works  which  are  without  life- 
giving  power,  to  living  works  done  in  the  grace  of 
God.  The  next  is  "  faith  toward  God,"  or  the  ex- 
plicit knowledge  and  belief  of  the  truths  of  divine 
theology.  Then  the  doctrine  of  baptism  and  of  the 
other  sacraments.  The  young  Christian  is  pre- 
sented before  us,  after  his  instruction  is  completed, 
coming  to  the  font  of  baptism  to  be  "  illuminated," 
sealed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  laying  on  of  the 
hands  of  an  apostle,  admitted  to  the  Eucharistic  Ta- 
ble of  the  Lord,  and  thus  fully  endowed  with  all  the 
privileges  of  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  heaven. 
Finally,  he  is  exhorted  to  "  go  on  unto  perfection," 
not  as  one  who  is  completely  justified,  saved,  and 
secured  by  an  extrinsic  and  imputed  righteousness, 
but  as  one  who  has  to  work  his  own  way  in  the 
favor  of  God  and  towards  heaven,  with  the  risk  al- 
ways attending  him    of  forfeiting  everything  if  he 


94  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

falls  away  and  does  not   "  show  the  same  diligence 
to  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end." 

Among  all  the  sacramental  means  and  instru- 
ments of  justification  alluded  to  by  the  apostle,  the 
first,  the  most  necessary,  and  the  one  most  closely 
connected  with  the  primary  and  fundamental  act 
which  justifies  a  sinner,  is  the  sacrament  of  baptism. 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  instruction  given  by 
the  apostles  to  their  neophytes  respecting  this 
sacrament  was  one  of  the  first  principles  ;  and  a  part 
of  the  foundation  of  that  Christian  doctrine  which 
they  were  required  to  believe,  and  according  to 
which  they  were  required  to  practise,  as  a  prelimi- 
nary to  their  reception  into  the  number  of  the  faith- 
ful. But  we  are  not  left  to  seek  in  casual  allusions 
of  this  kind  for  the  only  light  which  the  writings 
of  the  apostles  themselves  furnish  us  respecting  the 
details  of  this  instruction  respecting  baptism,  or 
obliged  to  have  our  sole  recourse  to  tradition,  full 
and  trustworthy  as  this  source  of  knowledge  is,  for 
our  more  complete  information  on  this  topic.  It 
so  happens  that  there  is  scarcely  any  topic  on 
which  so  many  and  such  clear  statements  are  found 
in  the  inspired  writings  of  the  apostles  as  this  very 
one  of  baptism.  This  is  a  very  happy  circum- 
stance for  one  who  seeks  after  the  truth  respecting 
the  Catholic  faith  in  the  New  Testament,  or  who 
undertakes    to  prove  it  from    the    same.     For  the 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  95 

whole  doctrine  of  the  grace  and  sanctifying  efficacy 
of  sacraments,  the  entire  principle  of  sacramental 
justification,  is  included  and  involved  in  that  great 
and  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  religion — the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration.  This  doctrine 
established,  and  the  way  is  clear  and  open  to  the 
demonstration  of  the  whole  Catholic  system.  This 
doctrine  subverted,  and  every  kind  of  anti-Catholic 
heresy  has  a  clear  field  before  it.  It  is  therefore 
happy  for  us  that  the  Scripture  is  so  abundant  and 
explicit  in  its  teachings  on  this  subject,  as  I  shall 
now  proceed  to  prove  in  the  most  satisfactory  and 
unanswerable  manner. 

I  begin  by  referring  to  one  well-known  and  unde- 
niable point  of  St.  Paul's  teaching  throughout  his 
Epistles,  which  is,  that  circumcision,  together  with 
other  Jewish  rites,  was  abolished  because  it  was  un- 
profitable as  a  means  of  justification — a  mere  sign 
and  token  of  a  covenant  of  grace,  which  became  use- 
less, and  even  noxious,  when  the  covenant  itself  had 
been  fulfilled.  It  is,  therefore,  absurd  to  suppose 
that  a  mere  ceremony  of  baptism,  really  of  no  more 
value  than  circumcision,  has  been  substituted  in  its 
place  in  the  Christian  Law.  Protestants  are  wholly 
inconsequent  when  they  attach  so  much  importance 
to  that  which  they  regard  as  a  mere  ceremony,  dis- 
pute so  violently  about  the  mode  of  performing  it, 
and  even   make  one  particular  mode  of  baptizing, 


96  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

and  an  opinion  about  the  subjects  who  are  fit  to  re- 
ceive baptism,  a  sufficient  reason  for  sectarian  divi- 
sions among  themselves.  They  will,  of  course,  fall 
back  on  the  precept  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  declare 
that  something  which  he  has  strictly  commanded 
to  be  fulfilled  cannot  be  a  trivial  matter.  I  admit  it, 
and  retort  their  argument  on  themselves.  It  cannot 
be  a  matter  of  trivial  importance,  for  Jesus  Christ 
would  not  make  such  a  matter  the  object  of  a  grave 
precept  and  obligation.  But  you  make  it  a  trivial 
matter  by  your  explanation.  Therefore  your  ex- 
planation is  false.  Let  any  one  consider  the  solem- 
nity of  the  form  of  baptism  which  is  derived  from 
the  very  words  of  our  Lord  himself:  "I  baptize 
thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  evident  that  such  a  form 
of  words  expresses  a  most  momentous  act,  and  de- 
notes a  relation  established  between  the  subject  of 
baptism  and  the  Blessed  Trinity  of  the  most  sacred 
character.  And  that  this  is  no  other  relation  than 
that  of  "  a  child  of  God,  a  member  of  Christ,  and 
an  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  involving  the 
remission  of  all  sin,  original  and  actual,  justification, 
sanctification,  and  every  other  grace  or  privilege 
which  is  included  in  regeneration  or  flows  from  it, 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  prove  by  most  explicit  state- 
ments of  the  Holy  Scripture. 

I  begin  with  the  testimony  of  St.  John  Baptist : 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  97 

"  He  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same 
said  unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit 
descending,  and  remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he 
which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  *  The  bap- 
tism instituted  by  Jesus  Christ  was  therefore  not  a 
mere  outward  lustration  with  water  as  a  sign  of 
something  else,  like  that  of  John,  but  a  real  sacra- 
ment in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given.  This  is 
reiterated  and  further  explained  by  our  Lord  him- 
self to  Nicodemus  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God."  f  The  baptizing  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  not,  indeed,  restricted  to  the  sacrament  of 
baptism,  for  it  maybe  understood  to  include  every 
kind  of  abundant  outpouring  of  grace  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men.  But  it  must  have  a 
special  relation  to  that  sacrament  which  is  specifical- 
ly called  by  the  name  of  baptism.  It  is  regeneration 
which  is  the  term  toward  which  all  preparatory 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  tend,  and  from  which  all 
subsequent  graces  take  their  departure.  Our  Lord 
explained  to  Nicodemus  the  necessity  of  this  regen- 
eration and  the  sacramental  medium  by  which  it  is 
effected,  namely,  the  water  of  baptism,  which  is  unit- 
ed as  an  outward  sign  with  the  inward  and  sancti- 
fying grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  There  is  an  appli- 
cation of  the  general  statement  oi  St.  John  made 
*  St.  John  i.  33.  f  St.  John  iii.  5. 


98  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

by  our  Lord  to  the  special  instance  of  regeneration. 
The  general  statement  is  that  it  is  characteristic  of 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  that 
he  baptizes  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  particular 
statement  of  our  Lord  is  that  in  the  act  of  regenera- 
tion this  baptism  is  one  of  water  as  well  as  of  the 
Spirit.  When,  therefore,  we  find  him  instituting  a 
sacrament  which  is  specially  called  by  that  name 
which  denotes  the  characteristic  operation  of  his 
divine  power,  and  in  which  the  outward  element 
is  water,  we  must  understand  that  this  power  is 
specially  and  signally  manifested  in  this  sacrament, 
and  that  its  proper  effect  is  to  produce  that  new 
birth  which  he  expressly  declares  to  Nicodemus 
is  caused  by  the  union  of  "  water  and  the  Spirit." 
The  outward  ceremony  of  lustration  with  water  and 
the  name  of  baptism  must  have  been  chosen  by 
our  Lord  for  the  primary  and  initiatory  sacrament 
of  his  church,  precisely  because  in  this  sacrament 
the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  purification 
and  sanctification  of  the  soul  by  the  grace  proceed- 
ing from  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  both  represented  and 
really  imparted  in  a  special  manner. 

As  our  Lord  began  his  ministry  by  teaching  the 
nature  and  necessity  of  baptism,  not  as  a  mere  cere- 
mony or  sign  which  must  be  observed  simply  be- 
cause he  commanded  it,  like  a  Jewish  rite,  but  as  a 
true  sacrament  of  regeneration,  so  he  concluded  it 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  99 

by  a  solemn  repetition  of  the  same  doctrine.  After 
his  resurrection,  "  he  appeared  unto  the  eleven  as 
they  sat  at  meat,  and  upbraided  them  with  their 
unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart,  because  they  believ- 
ed not  them  which  had  seen  him  after  he  was  risen. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that 
bclieveth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  *  Here  is  a  sum- 
mary of  the  gospel,  that  is,  the  good 'tidings,  or  the 
announcement  of  the  way  of  pardon  and  salvation 
to  man.  First,  it  is  necessary  to  believe  on  Christ. 
Second,  to  receive  his  baptism.  Everything  is 
really  included  in  these  two  conditions,  although 
obscurely,  and  needing  further  elucidation  in  order 
that  the  idea  which  is  formed  in  the  mind  of  the 
way  of  salvation  may  become  clear,  distinct,  and 
complete.  This  elucidation  of  faith  has  already 
been  given,  and  we  are  now  engaged  in  the  elucida- 
tion of  baptism.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said 
that  faith  includes  all  the  requisite  dispositions 
which  prepare  the  subject  for  baptism,  and  that 
baptism  includes,  together  with  the  sacramental  and 
sanctifying  grace  directly  conferred  by  it,  all  the 
graces  and  privileges  to  which  it  gives  a  right,  and 
all  the  obligations  which  it  imposes. 

The  apostles  fulfilled  the  commandment  of  their 

*  St.  Mark  xvi.   14-16. 


ioo  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Lord  to  the  letter.  Ten  days  after  his  ascension, 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  and  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  St. 
Peter,  preached  the  faith  to  a  great  assembly  of 
Jews.  As  the  conclusion  and  summary  of  his  dis- 
course, he  exclaimed  :  "  Therefore  let  all  the  house 
of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  that 
same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and 
Christ."  Behold  the  object  of  faith,  on  which  it  is 
necessary  to  believe  as  the  first  preliminary  to  par- 
don and  salvation.  "  Now  when  they  heard  this, 
they  were  pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said  unto  Peter 
and  to  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  Men  and  brethren,, 
what  shall  we  do  ?  "  Behold  here  the  beginning  of 
faith,  accompanied  by  a  sincere  disposition  to  act  up 
to  it,  and  that  compunction  of  the  heart  which  is 
the  beginning  of  true  repentance  and  conversion. 
M  Then  Peter  said  unto  them,  Repent,  and  be  bap- 
tized every  one  of  you,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and 
ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  *  Be- 
hold here  the  sacrament  of  baptism  as  the  means 
of  the  remission  of  sins  and  sanctification  by  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

St.  Paul,  in  his  speech  on  the  stairs  of  the  castle 
at  Jerusalem,  cites  the  words  spoken  to  him  by 
Ananias  at  Damascus :  "  Arise,  and  be  baptized, 
and  wash  away  thy  sins.'1  f  In  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  he  exclaims,  appealing  to  a  wcll- 
*  Acts  ii.  36-38.  f  1' id.  xxii.  16. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  101 

known  and  familiar  doctrine  in  which  they  had 
been  instructed  when  they  were  made  Christians : 
"  Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  bap- 
tized into  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  his 
death  ?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by 
baptism  into  death."  What  is  the  meaning  of 
being  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  ?  Evidently,  be- 
ing made  a  member  of  Christ  by  baptism.  This 
is  only  another  form  of  expressing  that  super- 
natural change  called  regeneration.  The  one  who 
is  a  member  of  the  fallen  race  of  Adam,  who  is 
under  the  ban  of  original  sin,  and  who  is  still  further 
degraded  and  estranged  from  God  by  actual  sins, 
is  freed  from  the  guilt  of  both  original  and  actual 
sin,  transferred  from  Adam  to  Christ,  renewed  and 
endowed  with  a  new  nature,  born  again  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  through  the  merit  of  the  death  of  Jesus 
Christ  upon  the  cross.  The  old  man  of  sin  within 
him  may  therefore  be  said  to  have  been  crucified 
and  buried  in  the  death  and  burial  of  the  Re- 
deemer, who  destroyed  sin  and  death  by  dying  for 
the  expiation  of  the  guilt  and  the  remission  of 
the  penalty  of  sin.  He  is  also  raised  to  a  new  life 
after  the  model  of  Christ's  resurrection.  "  Like  as 
Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of 
the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness 
of  life.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in 
the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the 


102  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

likeness  of  his  resurrection."*  This  "planting  in 
the  likeness  of  his  death  "  is  evidently  the  same 
thing  as  "  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death." 
The  destruction  of  sin  and  the  creation  of  a  new, 
supernatural  life,  whose  consummation  is  everlast- 
ing beatitude,  is  therefore  clearly  and  distinctly  as- 
cribed to  baptism  as  the  medium  or  instrumental 
cause  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  in  effect- 
ing the  work  of  regeneration. 

The  apostle  repeats  the  same  thing  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  contrasting  the  operative  power  of  the  sacra- 
ment of  baptism  with  the  inefficacy  of  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision :  "Ye  are  complete  in  him,  which  is  the 
head  of  all  principality  and  power  ;  in  whom  also  ye 
are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made  without 
hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the 
flesh  by  the  circumcision  of  Christ :  buried  with  him  in 
"baptism,  wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with  him  through 
the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead."  f  In  his  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  he  says  that  "  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all 
baptized  into  one  body,"  X  and  we  must  therefore 
understand  him  to  refer  to  baptism  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  in  which  he  says:  "Christ  also 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it ;  that  he 
might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of 
water  by  the  word" ;  especially  as  he  had  already 
*  Rom.  vi.  3-5.  f  Col.  ii.  10-12.  %  *  Cor-  xii-  x3- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  103 

specified  baptism  as  one  of  the  great  Unities : 
"  Endeavoring  to  keep  the  Unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bond  of  peace :  One  Body,  and  One  Spirit,  even 
as  ye  are  called  in  One  Hope  of  your  calling  ;  One 
Lord,  One  Faith,  One  Baptism,  One  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  all."  *  Finally,  in  the  Epistle  to  Titus  St. 
Paul  evidently  refers  to  baptism  in  the  passage 
where  he  says  that  "  after  that  the  kindness  and 
love  of  God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared, 
not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done, 
but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the 
washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  Greek  word  Xovrpov,  translated  by 
St.  Jerome  into  the  Latin  lavacrum,  signifies  laver, 
or  bath ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  appellation 
"  Laver  of  Regeneration,"  derived  from  this  passage, 
is  a  common  name  for  baptism  among  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Fathers,  as  it  is  now  among  Catholics 
and  Episcopalians.  Even  the  editors  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society's  edition  of  King  James's  Version 
refer  here  to  a  passage  in  St.  Peter's  First  Catho- 
lic Epistle,  in  which  he  distinctly  mentions  bap- 
tism, and  which  will  be  cited  hereafter.  The 
Protestant  Bishop  Bloomfield,  annotating  this 
passage,  says:  "Render,  by  'the  laver  of  regene- 
ration.' The  ancient  expositors  almost  univer- 
sally (see  Chrys.  i.  323),  and  all  the  most  emi- 
*  Eph.  v.  25,  26  ;  iv.  3-6. 


104  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

nent  modern  commentators,  are  agreed  that  by 
the  naXiyy areata  is  meant  baptismal  regenera- 
tion." *  If  the  opinion  of  Bloomfield  is  held  in 
light  esteem  as  that  of  an  Anglican,  the  judgment 
of  Calvin  ought  to  have  some  weight  with  his 
own  disciples.  Calvin  renders  the  Greek  phrase  in 
the  same  manner  with  St.  Jerome,  by  lavacrum 
regenerations,  and  he  goes  on  to  say :  "  I  doubt  not 
that  he  at  least  alludes  to  baptism  ;  indeed,  I  can 
easily  allow  the  passage  to  be  explained  concerning 
baptism  ;  not  that  salvation  is  included  in  the  ex- 
ternal symbol  of  water,  but  because  baptism  seals 
to  us  the  salvation  obtained  by  Christ.  Paul  is 
treating  of  the  disclosure  of  the  grace  of  God, 
which  we  have  said  is  made  manifest  by  faith.  Since, 
therefore,  a  part  of  the  revelation  is  made  manifest  by 
baptism — inasmuch,  that  is,  as  it  is  appointed  for  the 
confirmation  of  faith — he  very  suitably  makes  men- 
tion of  it.  Moreover,  since  baptism  is  the  way  of  en- 
trance into  the  church  and  a  symbol  of  our  graft- 
ing into  Christ,  it  is  here  opportunely  introduced 
by  Paul,  while  he  is  endeavoring  to  show  forth  in 
what  manner  the  grace  of  Christ  has  appeared  to 
us ;  wherefore  the  construction  of  his  argument  is  as 
follows:  God  has  saved  us  by  his  mercy,  of  which 
salvation  he  has  given  the  symbol  and  pledge  in 
baptism,  admitting  us  into  his  church  and  grafting 
*  Bloomf.  Gr.  Test,  in  loc. 


The    Way  of  Salvation..  105 

us  into  the  body  of  his  Son.  It  is  to  be  noted  also 
that  the  apostles  are  accustomed  to  deduce  an 
argument  from  the  sacraments,  that  they  may 
prove  thereby  the  thing  signified  by  them,  for  the 
reason  that  pious  men  ought  to  hold  firmly  this 
principle  :  that  God  does  not  play  with  us  by  empty 
figures,  but  effects  inwardly  by  his  power  that 
which  he  shows  forth  by  the  outward  sign.  Where- 
fore baptism  is  fittingly  and  truly  called  the  laver 
of  regeneration.  That  man  will  rightly  grasp  the 
power  and  utility  of  the  sacraments  who  so  con- 
nects the  thing  and  the  sign  that  he  does  not  make 
the  sign  something  empty  and  inefficacious ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  for  the  sake  of  exalting  it,  take 
away  from  the  Holy  Spirit  what  is  properly  his  own. 
Yet,  although  the  impious  are  neither  washed  nor 
renewed  by  baptism,  it  retains,  notwithstanding, 
that  power  so  far  as  relates  to  God,  since,  how- 
ever much  they  may  spurn  the  grace  of  God, 
it  is  nevertheless  offered  to  them.  Moreover, 
Paul  is  here  addressing  believers,  in  whom,  be- 
cause baptism  is  always  efficacious,  it  is  properly 
conjoined  with  its  truth  and  effect."  * 

It  is  not  my  affair  to  vindicate  the   consistency 

of  John  Calvin — a  matter  which  pertains   to  those 

who   acknowledge   him   as   their  master.     His  way 

of  playing  fast   and   loose  with    doctrine,   and   his 

*  Calvin  in  Epist.  Com.  in  loc. 


106  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

shifty,  sophistical  habit  of  mind,  are  plainly  enough 
exhibited  in  this  passage.  I  have  cited  him  simply 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  the  language  of 
Scripture  and  the  deeply-seated  sense  of  the  Chris- 
tian mind  connect  the  sacrament  of  baptism  so  in- 
dissolubly  with  the  grace  of  regeneration  that  only 
the  deadening  of  that  sense  by  a  protracted  action 
of  heresy  upon  it  can  sever  them.  Let  the  reader 
take  note  of  some  of  the  admissions  of  Calvin  in 
the  passage  above  cited.  He  admits  that  baptism 
is  the  laver  of  regeneration.  Now,  the  only  plain 
and  distinct  sense  which  this  phrase  admits  is  that 
baptism  is  the  sacrament  in  which  the  washing  of 
regeneration  is  applied  to  the  soul.  He  admits, 
moreover,  that  sacraments  are  not  empty  figures, 
but  that  the  grace  which  they  signify  is  effected 
by  the  power  of  God  in  all  except  the  impious, 
in  respect  to  whom  baptism  is  denuded  of  sanctify- 
ing grace,  not  from  any  defect  in  itself,  or  lack 
of  will  on  the  part  of  God,  but  through  their  own 
fault,  and  because  they  spurn  the  grace  offered  to 
them.  Once  more,  that  baptism  is  always  effi- 
cacious in  true  believers,  and  that  all  who  are  bap- 
tized would  be  washed  and  renewed  by  baptism  if 
they  were  true  believers.  The  objections  which  he 
covertly  makes  against  the  Catholic  doctrine  of 
baptism  are  that  it  makes  the  outward  symbol  of 
water  to  include  salvation,  and  that  it  thereby  de- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  107 

tracts  from  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  seems 
also  to  insinuate  that  it  teaches  the  sanctifying 
efficacy  of  baptism  in  the  souls  of  the  impious. 
Now,  in  point  of  fact,  as  Calvin  knew  very  well, 
the  Catholic  Church  ascribes  no  efficacy  to  the 
sacrament,  except  that  of  a  secondary  and  in- 
strumental cause,  subordinated  to  the  action  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  first  cause  and  real  author 
of  regeneration  ;  and,  moreover,  explicitly  teaches 
that  the  unworthy  recipient  of  baptism,  who  has 
not  the  requisite  dispositions  of  faith  and  repent- 
ance, does  not  receive  remission  of  sin  and  sanctify- 
ing grace  when  he  is  baptized,  and  cannot  receive 
them  until  he  has  become  a  true  penitent  and  a 
true  believer.  Therefore  the  Catholic  doctrine 
respecting  baptismal  regeneration  is  fully  justified 
by  the  admissions  of  Calvin.  And  I  would  beg 
of  those  Calvinists  who  admit  that  infants  are 
proper  subjects  of  baptism  to  note  carefully  what 
follows  from  the  doctrine  here  laid  down  by  their 
master  in  regard  to  all  baptized  infants.  It  fol- 
lows, namely,  that  they  are  regenerated.  For,  as 
the  sign  is  efficacious  by  the  institution  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  every  case  where  the  person  who  receives 
it  does  not  defeat  the  gracious  purpose  of  God  by 
impiously  spurning  his  grace,  and  as  infants  are  in- 
capable of  any  act  of  reason  or  will  whatever,  infants 
who  are  baptized  cannot  spurn  the  grace  of  God, 


108  The  Way  of  Salvation* 

and  consequently  are  always  washed  and  renewed 
in  baptism,  the  laver  of  regeneration. 

Quite  similar  to  the  passage  from  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  just  explained  is  the  one  already  alluded 
to  in  the  First  Catholic  Epistle  of  St.  Peter : 
"  Once  the  long-suffering  of  God  waited  in  the 
days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing, 
wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls  were  saved  by 
water.  The  like  figure  whcretinto  cvcji  baptism  doth 
also  now  save  us  (not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth 
of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience 
toward  God),  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ."  * 

Bishop  Bloomfield  expresses  the  sense  of  this 
passage  as  follows :  "  Into  which  a  few  (namely, 
eight)  persons  embarked,  and  were  saved  through 
the  water,  the  antitype  to  which  thing  (namely, 
what  corresponds  to,  and  was  figured  by,  the  pre- 
servation of  Noah  and  his  family  in  the  ark)  doth 
now  save  us,  through  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  as 
the  ark  did  them ;  [I  mean]  baptism,  which  is  not 
merely  the  putting  away  the  filth  of  the  flesh  [by 
material  water],  but  the  answer  of  a  good  con- 
science towards  God."  "By  doth  now  save  us  is 
meant  '  places  us  in  a  state  of  salvation.'  The 
answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God.  That  is 
(as  explains  Mr.  Holden),  '  by  that  which  enables 
us  to  return  such  an  answer  as  springs  from  a  good 

*  i  Ep.  St.  Peter  iii.  20,  21. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  109 

conscience  towards  God,  which  can  be  no  other 
than  the  inward  change  and  renovation  wrought 
by  the  Spirit.'  The  meaning,  therefore,  is  that 
baptism,  in  order  to  save  us,  must  not  be  the 
mere  outward  act,  but  must  be  also  accompanied 
with  the  inward  grace  ;  in  other  words,  it  must  be 
that  baptism  which  our  Lord  described  as  the  being 
born  again  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit."  * 

Calvin  remarks  upon  this  passage  :  "  The  sense  is 
by  no  means  ambiguous,  that,  Noe  being  saved  by 
water,  had  a  certain  similitude  of  baptism.  And  the 
apostle  calls  this  to  mind,  that  the  likeness  between 
him  and  us  may  appear  more  clearly.  I  have  al- 
ready said  that  the  scope  of  this  passage  is  that  we 
should  not  be  led  away  by  bad  examples  from  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  and  the  right  way  of  salvation,  to 
mingle  ourselves  with  the  world.  This  appears 
clearly  in  baptism,  in  which  we  are  buried  together 
with  Christ,  that,  being  dead  to  the  world  and  the 
flesh,  we  should  live  unto  God.  In  this  respect  he 
calls  our  baptism  an  antitype  to  the  baptism  of 
Noe — not  that  the  baptism  of  Noe  was  the  original 
exemplar,  while  ours  is  an  inferior  figure,  .  .  . 
but  there  is  here  no  comparison  of  greater  or 
less ;  the  apostle  merely  signifies  that  there  is  a 
mutual  similitude,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  a 
correspondence,  between  the  two.  .  .  .  There- 
*  Bloomf.  in  loc. 


no  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

fore,  as  Noe  obtained  life  by  means  of  death,  when 
he  was  shut  up  in  the  ark  as  if  he  had  been  in  a 
tomb,  and  amid  the  general  destruction  of  the  world 
was  preserved  together  with  his  little  family,  so,  at 
the  present  time,  the  mortification  which  is  repre- 
sented by  baptism  is  to  us  an  entrance  into  life ; 
nor  is  salvation  to  be  hoped  for  unless  we  are 
separated  from  the  world.  Not  the  putting  aivay 
of  the  Jilt h  of  the  flesh.  .  .  .  Some  fanatical  men 
(for  instance,  Schwenkfeld)  vainly  distort  this  testi- 
mony, desiring  to  take  away  all  force  and  effect 
from  the  sacraments.  For  Peter  did  not  here  in- 
tend to  teach  that  the  institution  of  Christ  is  an 
empty  and  inefficacious  thing,  but  only  to  exclude 
from  the  hope  of  salvation  those  hypocrites  who, 
so  far  as  lies  in  them,  deprave  and  corrupt  baptism. 
Moreover,  when  it  is  question  of  the  sacraments, 
two  things  are  to  be  considered — the  sign  and  the 
thing,  as  in  baptism  the  sign  is  water;  but  the 
thing  is  the  ablution  of  the  soul  by  the  blood  of 
Christ  and  the  mortification  of  the  flesh.  The  in- 
stitution of  Christ  includes  within  itself  each  one  of 
these.  But  that  the  sign  often  appears  inefficacious 
and  without  fruit  happens  by  the  abuse  of  men, 
which  does  not  take  away  the  nature  of  the  sac- 
rament. .  .  .  Certainly,  when  Peter,  having 
made  mention  of  baptism,  immediately  makes  the 
exception   that   it   is  not  the  putting  away  of  the 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  1 1 1 

filth  of  the  flesh,  he  shows  plainly  enough  that 
to  some  baptism  is  only  of  the  latter,  and  therefore 
that  the  external  sign  is  by  itself  of  no  value.  But 
the  interrogation  of  a  good  conscience.  In  the  first 
place,  interrogation  is  here  employed  in  the  place  of 
answer  or  testimony.  Moreover,  Peter  briefly  de- 
fines the  power  and  utility  of  baptism  when  he 
refers  it  to  the  conscience,  and  distinctly  requires 
that  confidence  which  can  sustain  the  sight  of  God 
and  stand  before  his  tribunal.  For  in  these  words 
he  teaches  that  baptism  in  its  principal  part  is 
spiritual,  and  therefore  that  it  includes  in  itself  re- 
mission of  sins  and  the  reformation  of  the  old  man. 
For  how  can  the  conscience  be  good  and  pure,  un- 
less our  old  man  has  been  converted,  and  we  have 
been  renewed  to  the  righteousness  of  God  ?  And 
how  shall  we  answer  before  God,  unless  sustained 
and  supported  by  the  gratuitous  pardon  of  sins  ?  "  * 
I  have  quoted  these  passages  from  two  Protest- 
ant commentators,  in  order  to  convince  the  Pro- 
testant reader  that  the  texts  referred  to  relate  to 
baptism,  and  that  the  parenthesis  in  the  text  taken 
from  St.  Peter  does  not  detract  from  their  literal 
meaning  and  force.  Bloomfield  is  admitted  by 
Calvinists  even  to  be  a  learned  and  accurate  critic 
of  the  text  of  the  New  Testament.  Calvin  is  their 
acknowledged  master,  and  not  only  esteemed  by 
Calvin  in  loc. 


1 1 2  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

them  as  a  critical,  but  also  as  a  doctrinal,  authority 
of  the  highest  kind.  Both  concur  in  giving  to  the 
texts  in  question  the  same  literal  and  exegetical 
interpretation  with  that  which  is  given  by  the 
fathers  and  Catholic  commentators.  Baptism  is 
the  Laver  of  Regeneration,  and  the  antitype  of  the 
salvation  of  the  family  of  Noe  by  water.  The 
spiritual  renewal,  of  which  the  outward  applica- 
tion of  baptismal  water  to  the  body  is  the  sac- 
ramental-sign,  is  the  inward  and  principal  part  of 
baptism.  Peace  of  conscience  and  the  reformation 
of  the  heart  and  life  are  the  proper  effects  and 
consequences  of  this  spiritual  renovation.  In  the 
case  of  those  persons  to  whom  baptism  is  unpro- 
fitable, it  is  rendered  unprofitable  by  their  impiety 
and  contempt  of  the  grace  of  God.  This  is  the 
sum  of  the  doctrine  extracted  from  the  two  texts 
cited  in  the  passages  I  have  quoted  from  Calvin, 
and  in  which  Bishop  Bloomfield  concurs.  There 
are  other  sentences  of  Calvin  in  the  context,  which 
I  have  omitted  because  they  are  irrelevant  to  the 
precise  point  of  reference,  not  being  the  elucida- 
tion of  the  literal  meaning  of  the  text,  but  dis- 
cursions  into  the  field  of  controversy.  The  Cal- 
vinistic  tenet  of  justification  by  faith  alone  is,  as 
I  have  said,  wholly  incompatible  with  the  doctrine 
of  sacramental  justification.  A  Calvinist  cannot 
consistently  hold    that    baptism   is   anything   more 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  113 

than  a  ceremony  which  signifies  that  regeneration 
which  is  effected  by  the  immediate  act  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  through  the  sole  instrumentality  of  faith. 
All  that  Calvin  can  say,  therefore,  in  respect  to 
baptism,  which  sounds  like  orthodox  doctrine,  is 
either  a  gross  contradiction  to  his  own  tenets  or 
an  illusory  form  of  speech  used  in  order  to  throw 
dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  simple.  His  followers  have 
been  more  logical  or  more  honest  than  himself,  and 
have  long  ceased  to  think  or  speak  of  baptism  as 
the  laver  of  regeneration.  It  is  of  no  consequence, 
however,  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, to  know  what  were  the  doctrinal  tenets  of 
Calvin,  or  what  are  those  of  his  disciples.  Although 
they  are  professedly  derived  from  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, they  are  derived  by  deduction,  by  reason- 
ing, which  is  to  a  great  extent  very  subtle  and 
remote.  The  question  before  us  is  one  which  con- 
cerns a  matter  much  more  simple  and  obvious — 
namely,  the  examination  of  some  very  plain  *texts 
of  Scripture,  and  of  others  which,  if  not  so  plain  in 
themselves,  become  so  by  comparison  with  others 
and  by  the  help  of  an  analysis  which  is  not  very 
difficult.  The  only  difficulty  lies  in  prejudice. 
And  on  account  of  this  prejudice  I  have  taken 
more  pains  than  would  otherwise  have  been  neces- 
sary to  show  by  Protestant  authority  that  the  texts 
I  have  cited  refer  to  sacramental  baptism. 


H4  2Tk  Way  of  Salvation. 

These  texts  are  now  before  the  reader,  and  I  ask 
him  to  consider  their  plain  and  obvious  statements, 
and  the  sense  which  they  convey  to  the  mind  when 
taken  literally  and  combined  with  each  other.  They 
teach  us  that  baptism  is  the  laver  of  regeneration ; 
that  it  has  two  parts — an  outward  lustration  with 
water  and  an  inward  grace  of  the  Spirit  which 
produces  a  new  birth ;  that  by  it  we  are  saved,  re- 
ceive the  remission  of  sins,  are  made  members  of 
the  church  and  of  Christ,  are  buried  with  Christ 
and  raised  up  again  with  him,  receive  power  to  live 
a  holy  life,  and  are  entitled  to  the  resurrection  of 
glory  and  life  everlasting. 

I  will  not  refer  to  tradition  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  primitive  church  as  independent  authorities. 
But  it  is  reasonable  even  for  a  Calvinist  to  make 
use  of  both  as  a  medium  for  getting  a  correct  idea 
of  the  sense  and  meaning  of  the  language  used  by 
the  apostles.  The  constant  and  invariable  inter- 
pretation of  the  fathers,  and  the  unanimous  teach- 
ing of  the  church  during  the  first  six  centuries,  are  a 
proof  of  the  understanding  of  the  apostolic  doctrine 
which  was  universal  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  must 
have  been  correct.  Whoever  desires  to  see  the 
evidence  of  this  unanimous  teaching  and  belief  of  the 
Catholic  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  will  find 
it  in  Dr.  Pusey's  learned  tract  on  this  subject,  which 
was  the  eighty-second  of  the  "  Tracts  for  the  Times." 


The   Way  of  Salvation.  1 1 5 

Before  proceeding  any  farther,  I  may  pause  for 
a  short  time  to  answer  some  few  objections  and 
remove  some  difficulties  which  will  doubtless  per- 
plex some  of  my  readers,  and  hinder  the  assent 
which  they  should  give  to  what  has  been  thus  far 
proved. 

One  may  say  that  if  the  sacrament  of  baptism  is 
the  only  appointed  way  of  obtaining  regeneration, 
there  can  be  no  salvation  for  those  who  are  igno- 
rant of  the  existence  of  the  sacrament,  or  unable  to 
receive  it.  This  is  very  easily  answered.  The  laws 
of  God  are  binding  on  his  subjects,  but  do  not  bind 
himself.  He  can  work  his  own  will  without  making 
use  of  the  second  causes  and  instruments  which  he 
chooses  ordinarily  to  make  use  of.  It  is  therefore 
just  as  easy  for  him  to  regenerate  a  soul  without 
the  sacrament  of  baptism  as  with  it  ;  and  whenever 
fidelity  to  his  promises  or  the  merciful  decrees  of 
his  providence  make  it  fitting  and  good  that  he 
should  do  so,  he  undoubtedly  does  regenerate  the 
soul  by  the  immediate  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

It  may  be  said,  again,  that  if  the  sacrament  re- 
generates by  its  own  intrinsic  efficacy,  a  wicked 
man  who  receives  baptism  validly  will  be  made 
a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  heaven  without  any 
inward  and  personal  change  from  sin  to  holiness. 
This  is  not  so.  For,  as  has  been  already  said,  the 
want  of  a  proper  disposition  in  the  subject  prevents 


1 1 6  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

and  suspends  the  due  effect  of  the  sacrament  until 
his  disposition  is  changed. 

And  once  more,  the  sins  committed  by  those  who 
were  certainly  fit  subjects  for  baptism,  and  therefore 
must  have  received  its  full  effect  when  they  were 
baptized,  as  in  the  case  of  all  who  were  baptized  in 
infancy,  may  be  pointed  at  as  an  evidence  that  they 
never  received  sanctifying  grace.  But  this  objec- 
tion springs  altogether  from  the  false  conception  of 
grace  which  belongs  to  the  Calvinistic,  but  not  to 
the  Catholic,  doctrine.  According  to  Calvinism, 
grace  works  irresistibly,  and  can  never  be  lost ; 
wherefore  one  who  is  once  regenerated  can  never 
fall  back  into  a  state  of  condemnation,  but  must  go 
on,  undergoing  a  progressive  sanctification  until  he 
is  finally  glorified.  I  have  already  refuted  this  most 
false  and  pernicious  opinion,  and  shall  do  so  still 
more  fully  hereafter.  At  present  I  will  merely 
state  the  true  doctrine,  in  order  to  show  how  com- 
pletely the  objection  disappears  as  soon  as  this 
doctrine  is  perceived.  The  grace  of  God  works 
irresistibly  only  upon  the  subject  who  places  no 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  it  by  his  own  free-will. 
Every  one  who  is  in  the  exercise  of  his  reason, 
therefore,  can  hinder  the  efficacy  of  grace  if  he 
will.  Moreover,  he  must  actively  correspond  to 
grace,  and  work  with  it,  in  order  that  it  may  pro- 
duce in  him  the  fruit  of  actual   virtues  and   «ood 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  1 1 7 

works.  Therefore,  if  he  either  resists  and  quenches 
grace  in  his  soul  by  deadly  sin,  or  neglects  to  co- 
operate with  it  by  doing  good  works,  he  falls  back 
into  the  state  of  spiritual  death.  The  regenerate 
are  placed  on  probation,  as  were  Adam  and  Eve  in 
tlieir  primitive  state.  They  are  free  to  keep  the 
commandments  of  God  or  to  break  them.  The 
majority  do  commit  more  or  less  sin,  and  some  die 
impenitent.  But  this  is  no  evidence  that  they  were 
not  regenerated  in  baptism.  It  proves  that  only 
infants  are  saved  b'y  baptism  alone,  and  that  there- 
fore there  are  many  other  tilings  necessary  to  an 
adult,  that  he  may  be  saved,  besides  the  grace  of 
regeneration.     But  this  is  all  it  does  prove. 

The  objection  that  the  doctrine  of  sacramental 
regeneration  interposes  something  between  the  soul 
and  the.  Holy  Spirit  is  futile.  The  blood  of  Christ 
is  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  yet  no  believer  in  the 
rede'mption  of  man  by  the  death  of  our  Lord  will 
venture  to  deny  that  we  are  washed  and  sanctified 
by  his  blood.  An  instrument  does  not  separate 
an  effect  from  its  cause,  but  brings  it  into 
contact  with  it.  Christ  is  our  Mediator  by  the 
operation  of  his  human  nature,  as  well  as  by  that 
of  his  divine  nature.  And  the  intervention  or 
interposition  of  his  human  nature  with  its  proper 
operation  between  the  human  race  and  God  does 
not  divide,  but    unites,  these  two   extremes.     The 


l  t  8  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Holy  Spirit  acts  as  the  efficient  cause  of  the  sanc- 
tification  of  men,  proceeding  from,  and  sent  by,  the 
Son,  equally  with  the  Father,  operating  through 
the  human  nature  and  human  operation  of  the 
same  Divine  Son,  as  an  instrumental  cause.  It  is 
the  Incarnation  which  interposes  a  medium  be- 
tween the  human  nature  of  men  and  the  divine 
nature  of  the  Holy  Spirit — that  is,  of  the  Three 
Persons  in  God,  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whose  nature  is  one  and  the  same. 
It  is  impossible,  therefore,  for  a  believer  in  the 
Incarnation  to  object  to  a  sacramental  instrument 
or  medium,  simply  because  it  is  something  between 
the  soul  of  man  and  the  Divine  Spirit. 

Neither  can  he  say  that  it  substitutes  another 
medium  in  place  of  the  true  medium  between  the 
human  and  divine  nature,  which  is  the  humanity  of 
Christ.  It  is  not  another,  for  it  is  subordinate  to 
its  principal,  and  the  vehicle  of  its  action.  The 
virtue  of  the  blood  of  Christ  gives  efficacy  to  the 
water  of  baptism.  It  is  impossible  to  show  that 
there  is  any  necessary  reason  why  the  Mediator  of 
Redemption  should  always  exercise  his  office  in  his 
own  proper  person  and  by  his  own  immediate 
acts.  It  is  enough  if  he  gives  the  authority  and 
communicates  the  virtue  which  reside  in  him  to 
subordinate  agents  and  instruments,  to  transmit 
and   communicate  to   individual  men   the  effect  of 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  1 1 9 

those  essential  acts  which  he  has  accomplished  in 
his  own  person.  His  own  institution  and  com- 
mandment prove  that  he  has  sanctified  and  con- 
secrated visible  elements  and  signs  as  the  vehicle 
of  his  grace.  And  it  is  an  insufferable  piece  of 
audacity,  as  well  as  a  consummate  folly,  to  raise 
an  objection  against  the  plain  and  obvious  sense  of 
his  own  words.  It  is  our  part  to  ascertain  what  are 
the  sacraments,  and  what  are  their  excellence  and 
utility,  from  the  evidence  of  the  divine  word,  and 
to  give  our  unhesitating,  unwavering  assent  to  that 
divine  word,  so  soon  as  we  apprehend  it,  without  cavil 
or  objection,  without  regard  to  our  own  prejudices 
or  to  the  mere  opinions  of  men.  If  there  are  diffi- 
culties existing  in  the  mind  without  any  wilful  fault 
of  the  individual  in  whose  mind  they  exist,  it  is 
right  to  seek  for  a  solution.  If  they  are  solved 
in  a  satisfactory  manner,  so  much  the  better. 
But  if  they  are  not  completely  removed,  it  is  our 
strict  duty  to  neglect  them  and  pass  them  by,  and 
to  assent  to  revealed  truth,  in  spite  of  all  objections, 
as  soon  as  it  is  sufficiently  proposed.  There  are 
many  antecedent  difficulties  which  hinder  a  person 
brought  up  in  the  Calvinistic  tenets  from  receiving 
the  true  doctrine  of  the  sacraments,  and  other  doc- 
trines relating  to  the  way  of  salvation  which  have 
a  common  principle  in  the  Catholic  doctrine  of 
justification.     I    have    briefly    replied    to    some  of 


i  20  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

these  antecedent  objections,  and  intend  to  do  so 
still  further  in  the  course  of  this  treatise.  I  cannot, 
however,  do  this  at  any  great  length,  and  must  re- 
fer the  reader  who  requires  fuller  explanations  to 
other  and  more  complete  sources  of  instruction. 
To  return,  therefore,  to  the  principal  thread  of  my 
discourse.  I  repeat  again  that  I  have  given  clear 
and  sufficient  proof  from  the  Scripture  of  the  doc- 
trine of  baptismal  regeneration.  That  is  to  say,  I 
have  proved  that  baptism  is  a  sacrament,  insti- 
tuted and  endowed  with  an  efficacious  force  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  which,  as  an  instrument 
of  his  grace,  the  Holy  Spirit  imparts  the  gift  of 
regeneration  to  every  one  who  duly  receives  it. 
This  has  been  proved  in  two  ways — that  is,  by  a 
negative  and  indirect  argument,  and  by  one  which 
is  direct  and  positive.  It  has  been  proved  indi- 
rectly, by  the  refutation  of  the  opposite  and  con- 
trary doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone.  This 
doctrine  starts  from  the  assumption  that  God  wills 
the  salvation  of  the  elect  only;  that  for  them  alone 
Christ  has  died  ;  and  that  by  the  simple  fact  of  his 
meritorious  death  their  salvation  has  been  accom- 
plished and  secured.  It  explains  the  way  by  which 
they  are  redeemed  as  being  a  substitution  of  the  Re- 
deemer in  their  place,  both  to  bear  the  punishment 
which  is  due  to  them,  and  to  fulfil  the  obedience  or 
righteousness  which  they  owe  to  God,  so  that  he  is 


The   Way  of  Salvation.  121 

condemned  for  their  sins  imputed  to  him,  and  they 
are  justified  by  his  righteousness  imputed  to  them. 
Faith  is  explained  as  a  subjective  apprehension  and 
acceptance  of  this  finished  and  complete  justifica- 
tion and  salvation,  the  instrument  by  which  the 
elect  are  made  to  participate  actually  in  the  merits 
of  Christ,  which  are  theirs  from  eternity  in  the  de- 
cree of  God.  This  doctrine  teaches,  moreover,  by 
logical  necessity,  that  the  justification  which  the 
elect  hold  by  faith,  being  complete  and  absolute, 
can  neither  be  diminished  by  sin  nor  increased  by 
holiness,  much  less  ever  lost  or  forfeited  after  being 
once  obtained.  Sanctification  is  therefore  a  mere 
consequence  and  accidental  quality  of  justification, 
which  simply  begins  the  preparation  of  the  soul  for 
the  enjoyment  of  paradise,  but  is  in  no  wise  the 
formal  cause  of  its  acceptance  before  God  or  its 
final  beatitude.  The  man  who  has  faith  is  there- 
fore always,  though  still  personally  a  sinner,  and 
continually  committing  sins  which  are  worthy  of 
death,  in  a  state  of  perfect  and  unbroken  friend- 
ship with  God,  and  entitled  to  go  immediately  to 
heaven  as  soon  as  he  dies.  On  this  system,  of 
course,  sacraments  are  merely  empty  and  useless 
forms  to  those  who  are  not  elected  ;  and  to  those 
who  are,  simply  signs  of  the  grace  they  have  already 
received  or  are  destined  to  receive  at  a  future  time 
through  faith. 


122  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

In  opposition  to  this  doctrine,  I  have  proved  by 
an  argument,  directly  derived  from  the  plain  and 
obvious  sense  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  that  God  wills 
the  salvation,  and  has  provided  in  his  Eternal  and 
Incarnate  Son  for  the  salvation  of  the  human  race 
en  masse ;  that,  nevertheless,  the  salvation  of  in- 
dividuals is  not  by  this  made  secure  and  certain, 
but  only  possible,  and  is  only  actually  secured  by 
the  fulfilment  of  certain  further  conditions,  partly 
on  the  side  of  God,  and  partly  on  the  side  of  man. 
On  man's  side,  I  have  proved  that  faith  is  not  the 
sole  condition,  but  only  the  first  among  several,  all 
alike  essential.  Moreover,  that  faith  is  distinctively 
a  supernatural  belief  in  the  truths  of  divine  revela- 
tion, and,  together  with  repentance  and  a  resolu- 
tion to  keep  God's  commandments,  constitutes  the 
necessary  and  proper  disposition  in  an  adult  person 
for  receiving  regeneration  and  sanctifying  grace.  I 
have  also  proved  that  the  internal  justifying  prin- 
ciple, or  formal  reason  whereby  one  is  really  made 
and  accounted  just  before  God,  is  fides  formatd, 
or  the  habit  of  faith  informed  and  vivified  by 
charity  or  the  love  of  God.  This  fides  formata, 
which  is  the  living,  active  principle  of  a  new  nature, 
and  is  communicated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  can  only 
be  given  by  the  regeneration  of  the  soul,  which  is 
dead  by  original  sin,  and  by  actual  sin  also  if  the 
guilt  of  actual  sin  has   been  incurred.     The    only 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  123 

question  is,  therefore,  How  is  the  grace  of  regenera- 
tion imparted  ?  There  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
not  be  given  through  baptism ;  for  there  are  none 
of  the  conditions  which  precede  baptism,  which 
either  singly  or  conjointly  demand  for  their  verifi- 
cation that  the  subject  in  whom  they  exist  should 
be  already  justified.  The  negative  and  indirect 
proof  of  baptismal  regeneration  is  therefore  per- 
fect. 

The  positive  proof  is  contained  in  the  repeated 
and  distinct  declarations  of  our  Lord  and  the  apos- 
tles, which  I  need  not  now  resume.  It  is  most  clear 
and  certain  that  a  person  desiring  to  be  saved,  and 
coming  to  one  of  the  apostles  to  learn  the  way  of 
salvation,  would  be  taught  that  God  had  provided 
for  him  in  Jesus  Christ  all  that  was  requisite,  and 
that  he  could  therefore  secure  his  own  salvation  by 
fulfilling  certain  conditions:  that  he  must  believe 
in  Jesus  Christ  and  his  doctrine,  must  detest  and 
renounce  sin,  resolve  to  begin  a  new  life  and  keep 
the  commandments,  and,  after  suitable  preparation, 
come  to  the  font  of  baptism,  where  he  would  re- 
ceive regeneration,  remission  of  sins,  and  a  complete 
justification  through  the  merits  of  Christ. 

The  exposition  of  the  true  Catholic  doctrine  of 
the  Way  of  Salvation  as  contained  in  the  Holy 
Scripture  is  now,  therefore,  up  to  a  certain  point, 
complete.     "  Baptism  doth  also  now  save  us  by  the 


124  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,"  as  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles  declares  in  plain  terms.  A  Calvinist 
might  easily  conclude  from  this  that  the  matter  is 
now  ended,  and  that  one  who  has  been  made  by 
baptism  a  child  of  God,  a  member  of  Christ,  and 
an  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  has  acquired  an 
indefeasible  and  inamissible  right  to  eternal  salva- 
tion. He  is  accustomed  to  consider  the  matter  as 
settled  once  for  all  between  the  soul  and  God  as 
soon  as  the  individual  has  received  justification  and 
regeneration  ;  that  he  has  been  transferred  irrevoca- 
bly from  death  to  life,  and  can  never  more  incur 
eternal  condemnation.  But  this  is  a  great  mistake. 
The  very  idea  of  justification  by  a  real  sanctifica- 
tion  which  is  inherent  in  the  subject,  in  opposition 
to  that  which  is  by  an  imputation  of  a  righteous- 
ness extrinsic  to  the  subject,  makes  the  continuance 
and  perpetuity  and  consummation  of  this  justice 
dependent  on  the  permanence  of  the  personal  sanc- 
tity of  the  subject  of  grace.  Only  the  infant,  or 
the  adult  who  departs  from  this  life  immediately 
after  baptism,  receives  a  finished  salvation  by  bap- 
tism alone.  The  one  who  attains  to  the  use  of  rea- 
son, and  is  subjected  to  a  probation  and  trial,  must 
keep  his  sanctity  by  making  those  holy  acts  in  which 
the  principle  of  supernatural  life  becomes  operative. 
How  can  faith  which  worketh  by  love  subsist,  ex- 
cept by  acts  of  faith  and  love  ?     If  the  inward  prin- 


The  Way  of  Salvation*  125 

clple  of  justification  is  destroyed  by  sins  against  faith 
or  charity,  the  justification  which  depends  on  it 
must  be  lost.  Unless,  therefore,  every  baptized 
person  receives  a  grace  which  efficaciously  and  in- 
fallibly prevents  him  from  sinning,  he  may  sin  and 
lose  the  grace  of  God ;  and  unless  he  receives  an 
infallible  gift  of  perseverance,  he  may  be  finally  lost. 
No  one  will  pretend  that  baptism  either  gives  a 
right  to  confirmation  in  grace  or  to  final  perseve- 
rance. It  is  the  beginning  of  salvation,  it  places 
the  soul  in  the  state  of  grace  and  salvation,  but  it  is 
necessary  that  many  other  graces  should  be  given, 
and  many  conditions  fulfilled,  in  order  that  the  in- 
heritance of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  may  be  actually 
obtained  in  possession. 

We  may. conclude,  therefore,  that  there  ought  to 
be  more  sacraments  than  one.  We  find  that  it  is 
the  pleasure  of  the  divine  Mediator  and  King  of 
men  to  grant  regeneration  and  remission  of  sins 
through  a  sacrament.  We  learn  from  this  example 
what  is  the  nature  of  a  sacrament.  And  we  there- 
fore conclude  that  the  Lord,  who  always  acts  by 
fixed  laws  and  according  to  a  plan,  has  provided  all 
the  other  sacraments  which  are  requisite  to  com- 
plete the  work  begun  in  baptism,  and  that  they  are 
all  of  the  same  essential  nature,  considered  as  to 
their  generic  or  sacramental  entity.  We  conclude 
also  the  institution  of  a  New  Law  in  place  of  the  Old 


126  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Law,  in  which  there  is  the  most  clear  and  ample 
code  of  doctrinal,  religious,  and  moral  precepts,  di- 
recting the  Christian  what  he  must  believe  and 
what  he  must  do  in  order  to  attain  his  end,  ever- 
lasting salvation.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  my 
work  is  not  yet  finished  in  showing  how  one  is  to 
obtain  the  beginning  of  salvation,  and  pointing  out 
the  gate  of  entrance  into  the  way  of  life.  It  is  ne- 
cessary to  point  out,  still  further,  what  are  the  most 
essential  means  and  conditions  to  be  used  and  com- 
plied with,  in  order  that  one  may  walk  in  that  way 
to  the  end,  and  pass  out  of  the  opposite  gate  which 
opens  into  life  eternal. 


CHAPTER     FOURTH. 

Necessity  of  Means  for  trie  Remission  of  Sin  after  Baptism — Ve- 
nial and  Mortal  Sin — The  Sacrament  of  Penance — Extreme 
Unction — Purgatory — Means  for  the  Preservation  and  Increase 
of  Grace  and  Holiness — The  Holy  Eucharist  the  great  Source 
of  Grace  and  Nourishment  for  the  Soul. 

\J{  WHOEVER  believes  in  regeneration,  or  the 
*  *  new  birth  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  must  admit 
that  it  produces  in  the  renewed  and  forgiven  sinner, 
together  with  the  abolition  of  original  and  actual 
sin,  a  new  and  holy  principle  of  spiritual  life  and 
activity.  He  is  born  of  God,  after  the  image  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  bears  therefore  in  himself  the  like- 
ness of  the  Eternal  Son,  who  is  the  image  of  the 
Father;  and  is  also  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  dwells  in  him  with  his  sevenfold  gifts.  The 
image  of  Christ  cannot  coexist  with  the  image  of 
Satan  in  the  soul,  or  the  Holy  Spirit  dwell  in  a  soul 
which  is  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  The  principle 
of  life  excludes  the  principle  of  death,  and  viceversd  ; 
and  therefore  sanctifying  grace  excludes  all  deadly 
sin,  and  deadly  sin  extinguishes  sanctifying  grace. 
The  soul  which  has  been  made  alive  must  continue 
to  live  and  exercise  the  functions  and  acts  of  spiri- 
tual life  ;  otherwise  it  lapses  into  the  state  of  death, 

127 


128  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

from  which  it  can  only  be  recovered  by  a  new  spiri> 
tual  resurrection.  I  have  already  proved  that  a 
mere  trust  in  the  merits  of  Christ,  which  the  Cal- 
vinists  call  faith,  cannot  of  itself  give  life  to  the 
soul  or  make  it  just  before  God,  and  that  faith, 
taken  in  its  true  sense,  is  a  dead  faith,  and  there- 
fore not  life-giving,  unless  it  is  joined  with  charity. 
It  is,  therefore,  the  living  faith  working  by  love,  or 
fides  formata,  which  is  the  principle  of  spiritual 
life,  and  must  be  preserved  if  one  would  continue 
in  grace,  and  must  persevere  until  death  if  one 
would  hold  out  to  the  end  in  the  friendship  of  God 
and  never  forfeit  the  rights  of  his  baptism.  It  be- 
longs to  the  very  essence  of  the  love  of  God  that 
this  love  be  supreme  and  exclude  all  contrary  love 
of  self  and  other  creatures.  That  is,  it  is  necessary 
that  God  should  be  the  final  end  toward  which  the 
intention  is  directed,  and  that  no  creature  should  be 
substituted  for  God  as  the  final  end  or  chief  good. 
He  who  wills  the  end  wills  the  means ;  and  there- 
fore he  who  directs  the  intention  of  his  will  to  God 
must  keep  the  laws  he  has  made  in  order  to  direct 
all  moral  actions  towards  their  final  end.  Sin  con- 
sists in  turning  from  God  to  the  created  good  as  our 
final  end,  by  a  voluntary  transgression  of  one  of 
these  precepts.  Whoever  sins,  by  the  very  fact 
turns  himself  from  God  as  his  final  end,  and  thereby 
violates  the  principle  of  charity,  acts  on  a  directly 


•     The    Way  of  Salvation.  1 29 

opposite  and  contrary  principle.  This  contrary 
principle  has  therefore  expelled  the  principle  of 
charity  from  his  soul,  and  extinguished  its  spiritual 
life.  Keeping  the  commandments  of  God  and 
avoiding  all  grievous  sins  is,  then,  a  necessary  con- 
dition which  the  regenerate  man  must  fulfil  in  or- 
der to  remain  in  the  state  of  justification.  It  follows 
from  this  that  God  gives  to  the  baptized  sufficient 
grace  to  keep  his  law,  and  that  by  the  aid  of  grace 
it  is  possible  to  go  from  the  baptismal  font  to  the 
grave  without  ever  staining  the  robe  of  innocence 
by  a  single  grievous  sin.  It  is  too  plain  to  need 
proof  that  it  is  also  easy  to  sin.  And  if  one  sins, 
the  same  grace  which  at  first  sanctified  him  must 
sanctify  him  again,  or  he  is  lost  for  ever.  The  good- 
ness and  mercy  of  God,  who  wills  the  salvation  of 
all  men,  so  long  as  their  probation  continues,  must 
have  provided  special  means  for  increasing  and 
strengthening  spiritual  life  in  the  living,  and  for 
raising  again  and  purifying  the  fallen  and  guilty. 
The  Way  of  Salvation  is  therefore  a  way  provided 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  which  Christians  work 
out  their  salvation  and  advance  toward  heaven  by 
keeping  the  commandments,  with  special  means  for 
obtaining  strength  and  perseverance,  and  other 
means  for  obtaining  pardon  and  purification  when 
they  fall  hy  the  way  and  defile  themselves  by  sin. 
All  this;  which  is  only  a  just  and  necessary  deduc- 


130  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tion  from  the  truths  already  proved  from  the  Holy 
Scripture,  is  capable  of  its  own  separate  and  inde- 
pendent proof  from  the  same  divine  source.  And 
this  proof  I  shall  now  proceed  to  give. 

The  language  of  St.  Paul  is  perfectly  plain  and  ex- 
plicit on  this  subject :  "  There  is  therefore  now  no 
condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus." 
All  sins  have  been  remitted,  and  they  have  no  guilt 
upon  them  which  requires  an  eternal  punishment. 
But  who  are  they  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  They  are 
those  "  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
Spirit."  How  have  they  been  freed  from  condem- 
nation and  enabled  to  walk  after  the  Spirit,  that  is, 
by  the  inspiration  and  aid  of  grace  to  live  a  life  holy 
and  free  from  sin?  "There  is  therefore  now  no 
condemnation.  .  .  .  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit 
of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  and  death."  Christ,  having  by  his  death 
expiated  sin  and  merited  grace,  has  conferred  on 
the  regenerate  a  power  which  is  above  the  forces 
of  nature,  to  keep  that  law  which  they  otherwise 
would  be  morally  unable  to  keep  so  entirely  and 
perfectly  as  to  be  free  from  all  sin.  "  For  what  the 
law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the 
flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  : 
that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled 
in  us,  who  walk   not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  131 

Spirit."  Walking  after  the  Spirit  means,  therefore, 
fulfilling  the  righteousness  of  the  law  or  keeping 
the  commandments  of  God.  This  is  confirmed  by 
what  follows  in  the  context :  "  The  carnal  mind 
is  enmity  against  God  :  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the 
law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be."  The  argument 
of  this  passage  is  easily  converted  into  a  regular 
syllogism. 

All  that  which  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God  is 
enmity  against  God.  But  the  carnal  mind  is  not 
subject  to  the  law  of  God.  Therefore  the  carnal 
mind  is.  enmity  against  God.  The  apostle  proceeds 
then  to  draw  the  necessary  inference  that  whoever 
has  a  carnal  mind  has  enmity  against  God,  or 
is  the  enemy  of  God,  and  consequently  is  the  ob- 
ject of  God's  enmity.  "  So  then  they  that  are  in 
the  flesh  cannot  please  God."  Walking  after  the 
flesh,  therefore,  means  not  being  subject  to — that  is, 
violating — the  law  of  God,  or  sinning.  Whoever  sins 
must  then  become  the  enemy  of  God  and  incur  the 
penalty  of  death.  "  To  be  carnally  minded  is 
death."  "If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die." 
In  other  words,  mortal  sin  is  the  death  of  the  soul. 
And  consequently,  whoever  is  in  the  state  of  sanc- 
tifying grace  and  of  friendship  with  God  must  be 
free  from  mortal  sin,  must  fulfil  the  righteousness 
of  the  law,  must  keep  all  the  commandments  of 
God,  and  preserve  his  justification  by  preserving  the 


132  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

inward  sanctity  given  him  in  baptism  and  persever- 
ing in  good  works.  This  is  expressly  declared  by 
St.  Paul  in  a  distinct  statement :  "  But  ye  are  not  in 
the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  dwell  in  you."  "  If  ye  through  the  Spirit  do 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live.  For  as 
many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God."  * 

St.  John  teaches  the  same  doctrine  :  "  Beloved, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God.  .  .  .  Whosoever 
committeth  sin  transgresseth  also  the  law  :  for  sin 
is  the  transgression  of  the  law.  .  .  .  He  that 
committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil.  .  .  .  Whoso- 
ever is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin ;  for  his 
seed  remaineth  in  him  :  and  he  cannot  sin,  because 
he  is  born  of  God.  In  this  the  children  of  God  are 
manifest,  and  the  children  of  the  devil :  whosoever 
doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God."  f  It  is 
plain,  then,  that  a  person  who  is  the  child  of  God 
and  led  by  the  Spirit  cannot  commit  deadly  sin 
while  he  is  a  child  of  God,  or  that  the  state  of  filial 
love  and  the  state  of  sin  cannot  exist  at  the  same 
time  in  the  same  person.  St.  John  expressly 
teaches  that  the  principle  of  sanctifying  grace  ex- 
cludes sin  by  its  very  nature,  and  that  the  principle 
of  sin  excludes  sanctifying  grace,  which  is  the  spirit- 
ual life    of    the    soul,  and    consequently  produces 

*  Rom.  viii.  1-16.  \  1  Epistle  St.  John  iii.  2-10. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  133 

death,  or  rather,  it  is  itself  the  death  of  the  soul 
by  its  very  nature. 

The  justified  man  can  therefore  fall  from  the 
state  of  justification,  and  he  does  so  fall  when- 
ever he  commits  a  grievous  and  deadly  sin. 
Moreover,  he  can  die  in  that  state,  and  incur  eternal 
condemnation.  It  is  evident  from  what  has  been 
already  proved  that  if  he  sins  he  falls  from  grace, 
and  consequently,  if  he  dies  without  forgiveness, 
must  be  lost  for  ever.  It  is  also  manifest  that  he 
can  sin,  unless  he  is  confirmed  in  grace ;  and  perse- 
vere in  sin  to  the  end,  unless  he  has  received  an 
indefeasible  gift  of  final  perseverance.  But  the  gift 
of  regeneration  does  not  include  in  itself  either 
of  these  gifts,  which  are  additional  and  purely 
gratuitous  gifts,  even  in  the  case  of  the  adopted 
and  justified  sons  of  God,  however  holy  they 
may  be. 

God,  through  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  declared  to 
the  people  of  Israel  that  they  were  to  live  by  keep- 
ing his  commandments,  and  should  die  if  they  broke 
them.  "  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  ;  walk  in  my 
statutes,  and  keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them, 
.  .  .  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live  in 
them."  "  But  when  the  righteous  turneth  away 
from  his  righteousness,  and  committeth  iniquity, 
and  doeth  according  to  all  the  abominations  that 
the  wicked  man  doeth,  shall  he  live  ?     All  his  right- 


134  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

eousness  that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  mentioned  ; 
in  his  trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in  his 
sin  that  he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die."  * 
So  also  St.  Peter:  "  If  after  they  have  escaped  the 
pollutions  of  the  world  through  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  again 
entangled  therein,  and  overcome,  the  latter  end  is 
worse  with  them  than  the  beginning.  For  it  had 
been  better  for  them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of 
righteousness,  than,  after  they  have  known  it,  to 
turn  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered  unto 
them.  But  it  is  happened  unto  them  according  to 
the  true  proverb,  The  dog  is  turned  to  his  own  vomit 
again  ;  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her  wallow- 
ing in  the  mire."  f  And  St.  Paul :  "  If  we  sin  wil- 
fully after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins, 
but  a  certain  fearful  looking-for  of  judgment  and 
fiery  indignation."  "  Leaving  the  principles  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  unto  perfection. 
.  .  .  And  this  will  we  do,  if  God  permit.  For  it 
is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once  enlightened, 
and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made 
partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the 
good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again 
unto  repentance  ;  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves 

*  Ezck.  xx.  19,  21  ;  xviii.  24.      f  2  Epistle  St.  Peter  ii.  20-22. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  135 

the  Son  of   God  afresh,  and  put  him  to  an  open 
shame."  * 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  proofs  from  all  parts 
of  the  Holy  Scripture  of  the  doctrine  that  man  is 
accounted  before  God  as  just  or  righteous  on  the 
ground  of  a  real,  personal,  and  inherent  righteous- 
ness, whose  principle  is  a  grace  of  sanctifkation  im- 
parted by  the  Divine  Spirit,  while  its  operation  con- 
sists in  doing  good  works  ;  and  which  may  be,  as  it 
too  often  is,  destroyed  by  the  commission  of  sin. 
Those  which  have  been  given  are,  however,  amply 
sufficient.  Such  being  the  case,  it  becomes  a  most 
momentous  question  what  provision  our  Lord  has 
made  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins  after  baptism,  and 
the  restoration  of  the  grace  which  has  been  lost. 

A  truly  earnest  and  sincere  person  who  really 
desires  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  the  work  of 
securing  the  permanent  and  eternal  union  of  his 
soul  with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  whose  mind  is 
imbued  with  Calvinistic  and  puritanical  ideas,  will 
very  naturally  find  much  to  trouble  and  perplex 
him  in  the  passages  just  cited  from  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, and  others  of  a  like  tenor.  On  the  one  side, 
he  cannot  fail  to  see  that  he  must  be  saved  from  the 
dominion  of  sin,  and  keep  the  commandments  of 
God  in  all  points,  if  he  would  obtain  peace  of  con- 
science and  a  reasonable  assurance  of  the  friendship 
*  Heb.  x.  26,  27. 


136  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

of  God.  On  the  other,  his  extremely  rigorous  views 
of  the  divine  law  and  of  the  guilt  and  penalty  at- 
tached to  the  smallest  offences,  as  well  as  to  the 
involuntary  and  unavoidable  movements  of  what 
he  calls  inbred  or  indwelling  sin,  must  make  it  ap- 
pear to  him  to  be  morally  or  even  physically  impos- 
sible to  obtain  and  practise  that  holiness  which 
seems  to  him  sufficiently  perfect  to  satisfy  the  inex- 
orable demands  of  the  divine  justice.  And  if  he 
examines  the  New  Testament  to  find  out  how  far 
and  by  what  means  he  can  obtain  a  sure  pardon  for 
the  sins  he  has  committed  since  the  time  of  his  bap- 
tism, he  will  be  still  more  bewildered  by  the  paucity 
and  obscurity  of  the  statements  which  it  contains, 
and  by  the  apparent  teaching  of  some  passages  that 
there  are  sins  which  are  unpardonable.  Every  one 
who  is  familiar  with  the  religious  biography  of  the 
Calvinistic  sects  knows  how  deeply  tinged  with  mel- 
ancholy is  that  which  is  called  the  religious  experi- 
ence of  those  who  have  been  the  most  noted  for 
piety  among  them.  The  fearful  spectre  of  the 
"  unpardonable  sin  "  has  haunted  the  imagination 
of  many  a  one  among  them,  and  those  who  have 
read  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  cannot  have 
forgotten  the  striking  and  fearful  picture  there  given 
of  the  man  at  the  Interpreter's  house,  who  had 
"  sinned  away  his  day  of  grace."  From  the  same 
cause,  those  members  of  the  Church  of  England  who 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  137 

began  the  great  movement  of  Oxford,  while  they 
revived  the  old  Catholic  doctrine  of  baptismal  rege- 
neration and  justification  by  inherent  righteousness, 
set  forth  in  the  darkest  colors  the  enormity  of  post- 
baptismal  sin,  and  the  uncertainty  as  well  as  difficulty 
of  obtaining  remission  of  its  guilt.  The  mixture  of 
certain  Catholic  with  certain  other  Calvinistic  ele- 
ments makes  a  most  fearful  compound.  Jansenists 
and  a  certain  class  of  Anglicans  have  accordingly 
made  out  of  the  easy  yoke  and  light  burden  of  the 
religion  of  Christ  something  as  torturing  and  unbear- 
able as  the  cangue  which  the  tyrants  of  Tonquin  lay 
on  the  necks  of  their  prisoners.  And  it  is  therefore 
with  the  greatest  justice  and  reason  that  Bishop 
Mcllvaine  has  denounced  the  insupportable  rigor 
of  a  system  which  combines  that  which  is  most 
severe  in  both  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  doc- 
trines, without  presenting  to  the  penitent  sinner  the 
provision  of  mercy  contained  in  either.  With  the 
utmost  logical  force  the  same  writer  shows  that  the 
fundamental  Catholic  principle  of  justification  must 
either  be  rejected  totally  or  followed  up  to  all  its 
consequences  by  embracing  the  whole  Catholic  doc- 
trine of  the  Way  of  Salvation.*  A  law  which  is 
above  the  condition  of  human  nature,  even  in  its 
regenerate  state,  is  the  despair  of  all  men  ;  and  one 
which  does  not  contain  ample  provision  for  mercy 
*   Vid.  Mcllvaine  on  Oxford  Divinity. 


138  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

and  pardon  is  the  despair  of  all  sinners.  It  is  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  examine,  in  the  first  place,  what 
that  law  is,  and  what  are  the  sins  which  bring  its 
eternal  penalty  upon  the  conscience  ;  and  after- 
wards to  consider  the  means  of  pardon  which  have 
been  provided. 

That  human  nature  remains  in  some  respects  in 
the  state  to  which  it  was  degraded  by  the  sin  of 
Adam,  after  it  has  been  regenerated  in  Christ,  no 
one  can  possibly  question  who  believes  in  the  doc- 
trine that  Adam  was  endowed  with  the  gifts  of  in- 
tegrity and  immortality,  and  lost  them  by  the  fall. 
It  is  just  as  certain  that  concupiscence  remains  in  the 
regenerate  as  that  the  doom  of  death  still  remains 
upon  them.  St.  Paul  calls  this  remaining  effect  of 
original  sin  a  "  law  of  sin."  "  I  delight  in  the  law 
of  God  after  the  inward  man  :  but  I  see  another 
law  in  my  members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my 
mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law 
of  sin  which  is  in  my  members."  *  It  is  not 
necessary  to  discuss  the  question  how  far  this  and 
other  texts  connected  with  it  refer  to  the  unre- 
generate  or  the  regenerate  state.  That  the  sin- 
ner is  in  captivity  to,  or  under  the  servitude  of,  this 
law,  before  he  is  liberated  by  grace,  is  evident. 
The  justified  man  may  be  said  to  be  also  in  cap- 
tivity in  a  different  sense.     That  is,  he  is  under  the 

*  Romans  vii.  22,  23. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  139 

painful  bondage  which  ties  his  immortal  spirit  to  a 
frail,  mortal  body  which  weighs  it  down,  and  makes 
it  necessary  to  struggle  against  infirmities  and  temp- 
tations. But  that  he  is  freed  from  the  captivity  of 
sin,  or  from  the  dominion  of  this  law  in  the  mem- 
bers by  the  grace  of  Christ,  is  expressly  declared  by 
St.  Paul :  "  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the 
motions  (rendered  in  the  margin  passions)  of  sins, 
which  were  by  the  law,  did  work  in  our  members  to 
bring  forth  fruit  unto  death.  But  now  we  are  de- 
livered from  the  law,  that  being  dead  wherein  we 
were  held."*  And  again:  "If  Christ  be  in  you, 
the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin  ;  but  the  Spirit  is 
life  because  of  righteousness.  .  .  .  Therefore, 
brethren,  we  are  debtors,  not  to  the  flesh,  to  live  after 
the  flesh.  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die  : 
but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of 
the  body,  ye  shall  live."  f  Evidently,  St.  Paul 
teaches  that  there  is  a  conflict  in  the  regenerate 
between  the  superior  nature  co-operating  with  grace 
and  the  inferior  nature  with  its  concupiscence,  in 
which  the  just  man  is  victorious.  He  is  not  free 
from  the  inclination  and  temptation  to  sin,  nor  can 
he  expel  from  himself  or  forcibly  quell  the  repug- 
nance and  resistance  of  his  lower  nature  to  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  he  can, 
and  while  he  remains  just  he  does,  with  his  deliber* 

*  Romans  vii.  5,  6.  f  Ibid.  viii.  10,  12,  13, 


140  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

ate  free-will  obey  the  law  of  God  and  refrain  from 
grievous  and  deadly  sins,  as  I  have  already  proved. 
Concupiscence  and  its  involuntary  motions  are  not, 
therefore,  called  sin  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word. 
They  can  only  be  called  sin  improperly,  because 
they  come  from  sin  and  lead  to  sin  ;  and  therefore 
they  can  and  do  co-exist  with  the  state  of  grace 
and  with  true  Christian  righteousness.  Sin,  in  the 
active  sense,  is  voluntary  transgression  of  God's 
law,  and  in  the  passive  sense  the  death  of  the  soul, 
produced  by  transgression.  The  just  man  is  there- 
fore free  from  sin.  "  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law 
of  sin  and  death."  *  u  Whosoever  abideth  in  him 
sinneth  not."  f  Yet  the  inclination  to  sin  and  the 
involuntary,  indeliberate  first  motions  of  the  law 
of  sin  and  death  in  the  lower  nature  remain  in  the 
just.  Wherefore  they  are  not  sin,  and  do  not  sepa- 
rate the  soul  from  God. 

Nevertheless,  St.  James  declares  that  "  in  many 
things  we  offend  all,"  %  and  St.  John,  that  "  if  we 
say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves."  §  None 
but  deluded  victims  of  spiritual  pride  will  pretend 
that  it  is  morally  possible  to  avoid  all  sins  for  any 
considerable  length  of  time  without  an  extraordi- 
nary grace.     We  are  obliged  to  confess  ourselves  to 

*  Romans  viii.  2.  %  St.  James  iii.  2. 

f  1  Epistle  St.  John  iii.  b.  §  1  Epistle  St.  John  i.  S. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  141 

be  sinners,  or  else  to  be  manifest  hypocrites,  so  great 
is  the  fragility  and  inconstancy  of  human  nature,  even 
in  the  most  perfect.  If  every  sin,  therefore,  how- 
ever minute  and  inconsiderate  it  may  be,  destroy 
the  life  of  the  soul  and  merit  eternal  death,  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  is  of  very  little  value  to  us,  and 
our  prospects  are  very  gloomy  for  salvation.  How, 
then,  can  we  say,  "  There  is  therefore  now  no  con- 
demnation to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,"  * 
or  that  "  his  commandments  are  not  grievous  "  ?  f 
There  is  no  way  out  of  this  difficulty  without  making 
the  distinction  of  the  Catholic  doctrine  between 
mortal  and  venial  sin.  It  is  necessary  to  admit  that 
there  are  sins  which  destroy  the  life  of  grace,  and 
sins  which  do  not  destroy  this  life,  but  only  injure 
more  or  less  the  health  and  strength  and  beauty  of 
the  soul. 

When  we  consider  the  question  how  sins  are  to 
be  remitted  and  the  soul  delivered  from  their  guilt 
and  stain,  the  difficulty  of  deciding  this  most  im- 
portant matter  from  the  Scripture  alone  becomes 
very  great.  In  regard  to  venial  sins  there  is  no  spe- 
cial difficulty.  For  the  love  of  God  in  a  soul  united 
to  him  by  grace  is  evidently  sufficient  to  expel 
venial  sin,  if  one  will  only  make  an  effort  to  in- 
crease this  love,  and  resolve  to  obey  its  impulse  in 
all  things,  small  as  well  as  great.  This  applies  to 
*  Romans  viii.  i.  \  i  Epistle  St.  John  v.  3. 


142  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

the  habit  of  venial  sin,  or  tepidity  in  the  service  of 
God.  And  as  to  sins  of  inconsideration,  they  are 
easily  effaced  as  fast  as  they  are  committed,  by  those 
acts  which  are  made  so  soon  as  a  person  recollects 
himself  and  reflects  on  the  actions  of  the  day. 
Moreover,  there  are  numerous  passages  in  the  Holy 
Scripture,  familiar  to  all  who  read  it,  which  express 
the  willingness  of  God  to  forgive  these  faults  and 
trespasses  of  his  children  as  soon  as  they  sincerely 
ask  pardon. 

But  in  regard  to  mortal  sin,  anyone  who  seeks  to 
find  out  from  the  New  Testament  alone,  by  his  own 
study,  how  one  who  has  again  incurred  death  and 
condemnation  after  receiving  baptism  is  to  be  re- 
stored, will  find  himself  very  much  perplexed. 
What  sins  are  mortal,  whether  any  or  every  mor- 
tal sin  is  remissible,  and,  if  so,  by  what  means, 
are  most  momentous  and  practical  questions,  on 
which  it  is  necessary  to  have  clear  and  explicit  in- 
formation. This  will  be  looked  for  in  vain,  and  cer- 
tain passages  which  I  have  already  cited  appear  to 
teach  that  there  are  irremissible  sins,  without  clearly 
specifying  which  they  are.  To  these  I  add  now  one 
more :  "  All  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be 
forgiven  unto  men :  but  the  blasphemy  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men.  And 
whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son  of 
man,    it    shall    be    forgiven    him  :    but     whosoever 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  143 

speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be 
forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the 
world  to  come."*  And  St.  Paul  says  of  one  who 
sins  wilfully  after  receiving  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  that  he  "  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of 
grace."  \ 

St.  John  appears  to  say  that  there  is  no  use  in 
praying  for  one  who  has  committed  mortal  sin.  "  If 
any  man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not  unto 
death,  he  shall  ask,  and  he  shall  give  him  life  for 
them  that  sin  not  unto  death.  There  is  a  sin  unto 
death  :  I  do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray  for  it."\  Yet 
the  expression,  "  give  him  life  for  them  that  sin  not 
unto  death,"  indicates  that  mortal  sin  is  referred  to 
in  the  former  as  well  as  the  latter  clause,  since  one 
who  has  need  to  be  restored  to  life  is  dead.  And 
St.  James  says  that  "  he  which  converteth  a  sinner 
from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from 
death."%  St.  Paul,  also,  sanctioned  the  absolution 
of  a  sinner  at  Corinth  whom  he  had  excommunicated 
for  taking  his  step-mother  to  wife — certainly  a 
grievous  sin.  That  those  who  sin  grievously  after 
baptism  are  not  altogether  shut  out  from  the  hope 
of  pardon  may  be  regarded  as  taught  with  suffi- 
cient explicitness  in  the  Scripture.  But  what  is 
needed  is  the  assurance  that  there  is  remission  for 

*  St.  Matthew  xii.  31,  32.  \  1  Epistle  St.  John  v.  16 

f  Hebrews  x.  29.  §  St.  James  v.  20. 


144  ?*&*  Way  of  Salvation. 

every  sinner  and  for  all  sins,    and  definite  informa- 
tion about  the  conditions   of  pardon.     This  will  be 
sought  for  in  vain  so  long  as  we  confine  ourselves 
exclusively  to  the  texts  of  Scripture.     A  Catholic 
has  the  authority  of  tradition  and  of  the  church  to 
interpret  the  Scripture  and  supply  what  is  lacking 
in  it.     But  the  Scripture  itself  furnishes  only  one 
perfectly  clear  and  explicit  statement  on  the  sub- 
ject, which  is  that  sins  are  remitted  by  the  power 
of  the  keys  which  Christ  committed  to  the  apostles : 
"  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost  :  whosesoever  sins  ye 
remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them."  *     This  is  very 
clear  so  far  as  it  goes.     It  proves  that  the  apostles 
could  remit  sins.     And  we  may  deduce  from  it  with 
great  probability  that,  since  the  power  is  conceded 
without  any  express  limitation,  it  was  unlimited,  and 
that,  in  order  to  be  exercised  judicially,  it  implies 
confession  of  sins  on  the  part  of  the  penitent.     Yet 
if  the  difficulty  should  occur  to  the   mind  of  one 
seeking  after  the  truth,  that  these  very  apostles  have 
declared  some  sins  to  be  irremissible,  what   solution 
could  he  find  which  is  perfectly  satisfactory  ?      Our 
Lord  said  also  :  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  shall  retain, 
they  are  retained."     And  what  if,  in  the  passages 
cited  above,  they  have  declared  that  some  sins  are 
always  retained  and  never  remitted  ?     A  supreme 
court  defines  its  own  powers,  and  its  judgments  are 
*  St.  John  xx.  22,  23. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  145 

the  authentic  interpretation  of  the  law.  It  is  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  have  recourse  to  this  apostolic 
tribunal,  to  this  authority  which  bears  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  in  order  to  ascertain  what 
sinners  can  be  absolved,  what  sins  can  be  remitted, 
and  what  are  the  conditions  to  be  complied  with  by 
the  penitent. 

The  Scripture  conducts  us,  as  it  were,  to  the  very 
door  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  but  no  further. 
It  is  impossible  to  understand  clearly  and  with 
perfect  certitude  what  it  really  does  teach  respect- 
ing the  remission  of  sins  after  baptism,  without  re- 
curring to  the  Unwritten  Word,  the  doctrine  which 
Christ  taught  the  apostles,  but  which  they  did  not 
record,  leaving  it  to  the  channel  of  orah  tradition 
and  the  teaching  of  their  successors,  to  whom  they 
bequeathed  their  power.  When  the  light  of  this 
Catholic  doctrine  is  turned  on  the  inspired  written 
documents  of  faith,  we  are  enabled  to  see  clearly 
that  sense  which  was  before  obscure,  and  to  read 
in  them  sufficient  indications  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion from  sin  committed  after  baptism,  whether 
venial  or  mortal,  and  from  its  temporal  or  eternal 
penalties. 

This  Catholic  doctrine  teaches  that  there  is  no 
sin  which  is  unpardonable,  and  that  every  sinner, 
however  numerous  or  grievous  his  sins,  may  be 
forgiven  and  saved,  if  he  will  repent.     The  declara- 


146  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tions  with  which  the  Holy  Scripture  abounds  of 
the  mercy  of  God  are  therefore  to  be  understood 
in  their  universal  and  unlimited  sense,  in  reference 
as  well  to  those  who  have  been  baptized  as  to  those 
who  have  not.  Those  obscure  and  difficult  pas- 
sages which  seem  to  make  exceptions  in  respect  to 
the  remission  of  sins  by  the  power  of  the  keys, 
must  therefore  be  interpreted  in  harmony  with  this 
doctrine.  The  most  alarming  and  perplexing  of 
all  these  texts — one  which  St.  Augustine  says  is  not 
exceeded  in  difficulty  by  any  passage  of  the  whole 
Scripture — places,  indeed,  as  much  apparent  limita- 
tion on  the  efficacy  of  baptism  as  on  that  of 
absolution  by  the  power  of  the  keys.  I  refer  to 
the  text  from  St.  Matthew  respecting  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  sin,  whatever  it 
may  be,  can  be  committed  by  a  person  who  has 
not  been  baptized  as  well  as  by  a  recreant  Chris- 
tian. In  fact,  the  very  occasion  of  this  terrible 
sentence  from  the  lips  of  the  Judge  of  men  was 
a  blasphemy  of  certain  Pharisees  who  had  never 
received  the  baptism  of  Christ.  If  baptism  has 
the  power  of  washing  away  all  sin,  therefore,  not- 
withstanding what  our  Lord  said  of  the  sin  against 
the  Holy  Spirit,  there  is  no  reason  why  absolution 
may  not  remit  this  same  sin,  and,  a  fortiori,  all 
lesser  sins,  if  the  sinner  is  a  baptized  person.  And 
as  it   is   a  settled  point  of  Catholic   doctrine   that 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  147 

baptism  and  absolution  can  remit  all  sins  without 
any  exception,  the  passages  of  Scripture  which 
appear  to  affirm  the  contrary  must  be  interpreted 
in  harmony  with  this  doctrine,  and  with  the  far 
more  numerous  declarations  of  the  Scripture  by 
which  this  doctrine  is  supported.  The  church  gives 
us  only  a  negative  exposition  ;  that  is,  excludes 
every  interpretation  which  restricts  the  efficacy 
of  baptism  and  absolution.  For  the  positive  ex- 
position she  refers  us  to  the  fathers  and  other 
learned  commentators.  From  these  we  may  gather 
as  a  general  result  sufficient  for  our  purpose,  that 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  is  some  kind  of 
peculiarly  wilful  and  obstinate  resistance  and  op- 
position to  the  supernatural  light  and  grace  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  is  called  irremissible,  either 
because  it  is  devoid  of  any  of  those  palliations 
which  are  found  in  ordinary  sins  of  human  fragility, 
and  which,  in  a  certain  sense,  appeal  to  the  com- 
passion of  God,  or  because  there  is  scarcely  any 
hope  that  one  who  commits  it  will  ever  repent  of 
it.  And  so  in  respect  to  the  other  passages  cited. 
They  are  satisfactorily  explained  if,  on  the  one 
hand,  we  understand  them  as  alluding  to  the  well- 
known  fact  that  no  second  regeneration,  no  repeti- 
tion of  baptism,  is  possible,  and  that  no  other 
sacrament  is  equal  to  baptism  as  a  sacrament  of  the 
dead  ;    and,  on  the    other,  as   renewing   the   same 


I4&  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

statement  which  our  Lord  made  concerning  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  Those  whose  sins 
proceed  from  a  deliberate  and  contumacious  spirit 
of  contempt  of  the  grace  of  God  are  with  difficulty 
and  but  rarely  brought  to  repentance,  and  they 
commonly  die  in  that  final  impenitence  which  is 
the  natural  consequence  of  their  total  apostasy 
from  God.  Nevertheless,  they  can,  and  sometimes, 
by  an  extraordinary  grace,  they  do,  repent ;  and  if 
they  do,  they  can  be  absolved  from  their  sins,  what- 
ever their  number  and  enormity,  and  even  at  the 
last  moment  of  life. 

This  difficulty  being  disposed  of,  we  return  again 
to  our  point  of  departure,  which  is  that  ample 
means  have  been  provided  for  the  remission  of  sins 
after  baptism.  Since  it  has  pleased  God  to  re- 
generate the  fallen  child  of  Adam  by  a  sacrament, 
the  analogy  of  reason  and  faith  requires  that  there 
should  be  another  sacrament  for  his  restoration,  in 
case  he  should  fall  from  grace,  as  he  is  continually 
liable  to  do  through  temptation  and  human  fragil- 
ity. The  existence,  nature,  and  conditions  of  this 
sacrament  are  not  distinctly  and  explicitly  taught 
in  the  inspired,  apostolic  writings,  like  those  of 
baptism.  But  when  one  already  knows  the  insti- 
tution and  nature  of  the  sacrament  of  penance, 
certain  things  about  it  are  seen  to  be  clearly  con- 
tained  in  Hie    Scripture,  and    other    things    to    be 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  149 

obscurely  involved  in  its  statements,  from  which 
they  can  be  deduced  by  just  and  logical  infer- 
ence. 

I  am  not  about  to  prove  the  divine  institution  of 
the  sacrament  of  penance.  I  simply  assert,  as  an 
historical  fact,  that  the  Catholic  Church  from  the 
times  of  the  apostles  has  testified  to  the  unbroken 
succession  of  priests  from  our  Lord,  who  have  re- 
ceived from  him  power  to  absolve  from  all  mortal 
sins  committed  after  baptism  those  who  are  peni- 
tent and  who  confess  their  sins.  Those  who  desire 
to  have  the  evidence  of  this  historical  fact  are 
referred  to  the  books  which  contain  it.  Taking  for 
granted  this  fact,  the  sense  of  the  famous  passages 
regarding  the  absolving  power  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment becomes  obvious.  The  power  of  the  priest 
to  absolve  is  seen  to  be  clearly  taught  in  them,  and 
the  obligation  of  the  penitent  to  confess  is  inferred 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  act. 

When  the  sacrament  of  extreme  unction  is  known 
to  have  been  also  administered  in  the  Catholic 
Church  from  the  apostolic  age,  the  sense  of  an 
otherwise  obscure  passage  in  the  Epistle  of  St. 
James  becomes  perfectly  clear,  and  furnishes  a  fair 
Scriptural  proof  of  both  sacraments.  "  Is  any  sick 
among  you  ?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the 
church ;  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him 
with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  :   and  the  prayer 


150  The    Way  of  Salvatioyi. 

of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise 
him  up  ;  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall 
be  forgiven  him.  Confess  your  faults  one  to 
another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may  be 
healed."  *  Elder,  in  this  passage,  is  the  same  as 
presbyter,  and  priest  is  only  the  ancient  English 
contracted  form  of  presbyter.  Therefore  the 
Douay  translation,  "  let  him  bring  in  the  priests  of 
the  cliurch"  besides  being  much  more  explicit  and 
in  accordance  with  the  language  in  use  before  the 
schism  of  the  sixteenth  century,  among  all  Chris- 
tians, than  that  of  King  James,  is  equally  literal. 
Forgiveness  of  sins  is  ascribed  to  this  sacrament  in 
the  text.  And  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church 
makes  the  sense  plain  in  this  respect  also.  Venial 
sins  are  remitted  directly,  the  effects  of  mortal  sin 
are  removed,  and  indirectly  even  mortal  sins  are 
remitted,  by  the  sacrament  of  extreme  unction. 
Confession  is  spoken  of  in  such  a  way  that  if  we 
suppose  Christians  in  the  apostolic  age  to  agree  in 
doctrine  with  the  present  Catholic  Church,  they 
must  have  understood  it  as  referring  to  the  con- 
fession of  the  sick  man  to  the  priest  who  came  to 
anoint  him.  King  James's  Version  has  "  faults  " 
where  the  Douay  has  "  sins,"  as  the  translation  of 
the  Greek  napaitroopiara,  Vulgate  peccata.  This 
translation,  though  verbally  correct,  veils  the 
*St.  James  v.  14-16. 


The   Way  of  Salvation.  151 

meaning,  and  induces  the  reader  to  think  that  the 
passage  refers  to  a  mere  acknowledgment  of  little 
defects  which  may  be  made  by  friends  in  confi- 
dential conversation.  The  Greek  word  is  the  same 
used  by  St.  Paul  (Rom.  v.  25)  to  denote  the  offences 
for  which  Christ  died.  Those  who  can  read  Latin 
will  perceive  in  St.  Jerome's  version  a  much  clearer 
and  more  precise  rendering  of  the  original  text  than 
our  clumsy  language  can  give,  and  will  see  how 
evident  the  true  sense  must  have  been  to  his 
mind,  imbued  with  ancient  and  apostolic  traditions : 
"  Infirmatur  quis  in  vobis  ?  inducat  presbyteros 
ecclesise,  et  orent  super  eum,  ungentes  eum  oleo 
in  nomine  Domini  ;  et  oratio  fidei  salvabit  infirmum, 
et  alleviabit  eum  Dominus  ;  et  si  in  peccatis  sit, 
remittentur  ei.  Confitemini  ergo  alterutrum  peccata 
vestra,  et  orate  pro  invicem,  ut  salvemini." 

Thus  far  the  provision  made  by  our  merciful 
Lord  for  the  remission  of  the  sins  of  Christians,  as 
disclosed  explicitly  or  implicitly  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, according  to  the  reading  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  has  been  explained.  The  reader  may  de- 
cide for  himself  if  this  doctrine  is  not  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  those  which  have  been  previously  ex- 
posed, and  if  it  does  not  make  a  clear,  intelligible 
sense  of  passages  otherwise  obscure  and  doubtful. 
A  second  sacrament,  a  "  second  plank  after  ship- 
wreck," affords  the  means  of  returning  to  the  state 


152  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

of  grace  in  which  the  Christian  man  was  first  plac- 
ed by  baptism,  and  from  which  he  has  fallen  by 
grievous  sin,  however  numerous  or  enormous  his 
crimes  may  have  been.  A  complement  to  this 
sacrament  has  been  provided  in  a  third  sacrament, 
intended  for  those  who  are  in  danger  of  death  ; 
which  either  restores  them  to  life  or  fortifies  them 
in  the  last  struggle,  as  God  sees  to  be  most  con- 
ducive to  their  salvation :  by  taking  away  the 
aggravation  which  sin  lays  upon  bodily  sickness 
with  its  special  dangers  to  the  soul,  and  strengthen- 
ing the  infirmity  of  nature  which  springs  from  the 
effects  of  sin. 

There  is  another  part  of  the  Catholic  doctrine 
respecting  sin  after  baptism,  however,  which  re- 
quires a  brief  elucidation.  The  church  teaches, 
namely,  that  the  sacrament  of  penance  has  not 
the  same  plenary  efficacy  for  taking  away  sin 
and  guilt  from  the  penitent  which  baptism  pos- 
sesses. The  penitent  is  not  restored  to  the  same 
degree  of  favor  with  God  by  sacramental  absolu- 
tion which  he  before  enjoyed,  nor  is  the  penalty 
due  to  him  fully  remitted.  Wherefore  he  must 
satisfy  the  justice  of  God  ;  and  if  he  passes  out 
of  this  life  with  any  debt  to  the  divine  justice 
resting  upon  him,  he  must  remain  in  prison  until 
that  debt  has  been  expiated  by  penal  suffering. 
Closely  connected   with   this   is   the  doctrine   that 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  153 

the  same  temporal  punishment  is  also  due  to  venial 
sins.  I  do  not  intend  to  dwell  upon  this  point 
here.  I  will  merely  take  a  brief  notice  of  the 
principal  passages  of  the  New  Testament  which 
sustain  and  confirm  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  a 
purgatory  after  death,  in  which  the  soul  is  puri- 
fied from  the  stains  of  sin  which  are  found  in  it 
when  it  leaves  the  body  in  the  state  of  grace,  yet 
not  entirely  free  from  guilt. 

The  passage  respecting  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Spirit  cited  above  implies  that  some  sins  are  re- 
mitted in  the  world  to  come,  else  the  declaration 
made  by  our  Lord,  that  this  particular  sin  shall  not 
be  forgiven,  "  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the 
world  to  come,"  has  no  meaning.  If  a  Catholic 
preacher  should  say  :  "  There  are  men  for  whom, 
without  a  miracle  of  divine  grace,  there  is  no  bap- 
tism, no  penance,  no  purgatory,  and  thus  no  hope 
of  salvation — such  is  their  violent  and  obstinate 
hatred  of  the  truth  revealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit — but 
only  eternal  damnation,  as  the  just  punishment  of 
final  perseverance  in  sin  ";  such  language  would  be 
perfectly  in  keeping  with  the  known  doctrine  of  the 
preacher  and  of  the  Catholic  people  to  whom  he 
was  speaking.  Other'  sinners,  however  grievously 
they  have  sinned,  and  however  long  they  have  put 
off  repentance,  may  be,  perhaps,  baptized  at  the 
very  hour  of  death,  and  go  at  once  to  heaven,  as  we 


154  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

frequently  find  to  be  the  case.  Or  if  they  have 
been  baptized,  and  can  no  more  be  washed  in  the 
laver  of  regeneration,  they  may  be  absolved,  and  in 
purgatory  they  may  make  satisfaction  to  God  for 
the  transgressions  of  their  lives,  so  that  eventually, 
being  entirely  purified  from  sin,  they  may  enter 
heaven.  The  remission  of  sin  in  this  world  and  in 
the  world  to  come,  in  which  the  prayers  for  the 
dead  and  other  works  in  aid  of  the  faithful  de- 
parted have  a  large  share,  is  a  familiar  idea  to  a 
Catholic.  And  to  be  shut  out  even  from  purgatory, 
to  be  deprived  of  all  aid  from  the  prayers  of  the 
living  after  death,  is  the  strongest  expression  to  his 
mind  of  the  hopelessness  of  an  eternal  doom. 

There  is  another  and  a  most  remarkable  passage 
in  one  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  in  which, 
in  figurative  style,  the  apostle  sets  forth  in  a  very 
terse  and  vivid  manner  the  whole  doctrine  which  I 
have  just  now  stated  in  brief  terms.  "  Other  foun- 
dation can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ.  Now  if  any  man  build  upon  this 
foundation  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay, 
stubble  ;  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest : 
for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  re- 
vealed by  fire  ;  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's 
work  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide 
which  he  hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a 
reward.      If   any   man's  work  shall   be  burned,  he 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  155 

shall  suffer  loss :  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved  ;  yet 
so  as  by  fire  T  * 

Once  more,  St.  Peter  affirms  that  Christ  "  went 
and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison  ;  which  some- 
time were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long-suffering 
of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noe.  .  .  .  For 
for  this  cause  was  the  gospel  preached  also  to  them 
that  are  dead,  that  they  might  be  judged  according 
to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  according  to  God  in  the 
spirit."  f 

This  may  suffice  for  the  present,  as  a  view  of  what 
Scripture  teaches  respecting  the  remission  of  sins 
after  baptism.  Its  statements  and  allusions  are 
more  rare  and  indistinct  on  this  topic  than  on  those 
whose  consideration  has  preceded.  It  may  be  ac- 
counted for  in  this  way.  The  faithful  to  whom  the 
epistles  were  addressed  were  recently  baptized,  and 
the  catechumens  or  hearers  to  whom  these  epistles 
might  be  read,  or  who  might  hear  the  apostles  preach, 
were  unbaptized.  In  their  first  fervor  and  devotion 
the  faithful  had  little  need  to  be  instructed  respect- 
ing the  sacrament  of  penance,  and  the  rest  had  no- 
thing to  do  with  this  sacrament  at  all.  After  bap- 
tism and  confirmation,  the  most  important  sacra- 
ment to  those  early  Christians  was  the*  Holy  Commu- 
nion.    They  were  in  the  habit  of  attending  at  the 

*  1  Cor.  iii.  11-15.  f  1  Peter  iii.  19,  20;  iv.  6. 


156  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

divine  oblation  every  morning,  and  of  receiving  the 
sacrament  daily  or  weekly.  Therefore,  as  was  quite 
natural,  the  apostles  spoke  more  frequently  and  ex- 
plicitly about  the  Holy  Communion  than  about 
any  other  sacrament,  baptism  alone  excepted. 

Let  us  recall  the  principles  already  established, 
in  order  to  make  the  connection  and  end  of  our  dis- 
course more  obvious.  We  are  endeavoring  to  trace 
out  the  way  of  salvation  as  laid  down  in  the  New 
Testament.  I  have  already  proved  that  the  sinner 
disposed  by  faith  and  repentance  is  placed  in  the 
state  of  grace  and  salvation  through  the  sacrament 
of  baptism  ;  that  he  is  made  just  and  holy  by  a 
real  and  inherent  sanctity  ;  that  he  is  to  keep  and 
increase  this  sanctity,  and  reduce  it  to  act  in  his  life, 
by  keeping  the  commandments  of  God,  which  are 
prescribed  to  him  as  the  condition  of  the  favor  of 
God  and  eternal  life.  I  have  also  proved  that  the 
sacramental  principle  contained  in  the  institution  of 
baptism  as  the  gate  of  entrance  to  eternal  life  must 
run  through  the  whole  order  of  grace,  and  manifest 
itself  in  other  sacraments,  in  which  the  Christian 
may  find  the  graces  necessary  for  the  full  comple- 
tion of  that  regenerate  nature  which  is  imparted  in 
baptism.  The  regenerate  man,  being  obliged  to 
live  a  life  wholly  supernatural,  to  perform  works 
above  the  powers  of  human  nature,  to  overcome 
many  and  great  temptations,  to  endure  many  trials, 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  157 

to  work  out  his  salvation  in  fear  and  trembling,  and 
all  this  in  a  frail  and  corruptible  body  which  is  a 
heavy  weight  on  the  soul,  needs  some  heavenly  ali- 
ment to  sustain  him.  He  needs  a  perpetual  source 
of  sacramental  grace,  from  which  he  can  derive  sus- 
tenance, vigor,  healing  virtue,  and  divine  consola- 
tion, that  he  may  grow  and  thrive,  and  be  strength- 
ened to  avoid  sin,  to  do  good  works,  and  to  win 
eternal  life.  This  sacrament  has  been  provided  in 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  as  the  inspired  scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament  most  plainly  teach. 

Our  Lord  himself,  as  we  are  informed  by  his 
beloved  apostle  St.  John  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his 
gospel,  taught  the  disciples  that  they  were  to  live 
by  a  continual  communication  of  virtue  from  his 
own  sacred  humanity  :  "  I  am  the  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven  :  if  any  man  eat 
of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  for  ever.  .  .  .  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of 
the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no 
life  in  you.  .  .  .  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and 
drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him. 
As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by 
the  Father :  so  he  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall 
live  by  me."  *  At  the  last  supper,  when  he  had 
instituted  and  consecrated  the  Holy  Eucharist,  he 
gave    holy   communion    to    the   apostles,    saying : 

*  St.  John  vi.  51,  et  scq. 


158  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

"  This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for  you.     .     .     . 
This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood,  which 
is  shed   for  you."  *     And   St.   Paul  writes   to   the 
Corinthians  :  "  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless, 
is   it   not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ  ? 
The    bread    which   Ave   break,    is    it    not    the   com- 
munion of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  "     Precisely  because 
this  food  and  drink  is  the  sustenance  and  aliment 
of  the  life  of  the  soul  when  it  is  received  worthily, 
he  ascribes  to  its  unworthy  reception  the  fact  which 
he  deplores,  that  "  many  are  weak  and  sickly  among 
you,  and  many  sleep."  f     The  perfect  clearness  and 
explicitness  of  these  and  similar  statements  make 
all  comment  and  elaborate  exposition  unnecessary. 
It    is   not    my  object    to   prove  the  real  presence, 
transubstantiation,    or    the    sacrifice    of    the  Mass. 
It  is  enough   to    show  that    the   grace   proceeding 
from  the  Mediator,  Jesus  Christ,  for  sustaining  and 
invigorating  the  regenerate  nature  which  he  imparts 
in  baptism,  is  conveyed  through  the  sacrament  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist.     The  express  and  full  elucida- 
tion of  the  nature  and  effects  of  this  sacrament  can 
be  found  in  the  many  excellent  treatises  which  have 
been  published  on  this  special  topic. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  speak  particularly  of  the 
remaining  sacraments  which  have  not  been  noticed, 
to  wit,  Holy  Order  and  Matrimony.     The  first  of 
*  St.  Luke  xxii.  19,  20.  \  1  Cor.  x.  16,  xi.  30. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  159 

these  is  intended  for  the  consecration  and  sanctifi- 
cation  of  those  who  are  set  apart  to  the  sacred  min- 
istry of  the  word  and  sacraments  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church.  The  second  is  for  the  sancti- 
fication  of  the  conjugal  and  parental  state  in  respect 
to  the  supernatural  end  of  the  family  in  the  order 
of  grace  and  salvation.  It  is,  moreover,  equally 
superfluous  to  prove  the  efficacy  of  prayer  as  a  most 
certain  means  of  grace  and  perseverance,  since  those 
who  may  be  supposed  to  read  these  pages  are 
already  fully  convinced  of  this  truth,  and  well  in- 
structed in  regard  to  the  same. 

I  have  shown  what  I  proposed  and  promised  to 
show  at  the  outset :  that  salvation  is  provided  for 
all  men  in  Jesus  Christ ;  that  faith  and  repentance 
are  the  conditions  for  being  placed  in  the  state  and 
in  the  way  of  salvation  ;  that  the  instrument  of 
regeneration  is  baptism  ;  that  salvation  is  actually 
attained  by  obedience  to  the  law  of  Christ  ;  and 
that  special  means  are  provided  by  which  a  Chris- 
tian is  strengthened  and  efficaciously  aided  to  fulfil 
this  obedience,  to  obtain  pardon  when  he  trans- 
gresses, and  to  attain  the  perfect  and  spotless 
sanctity  which  will  entitle  and  fit  him  to  enter  the 
celestial  kingdom.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
the  whole  work  of  salvation  is  comprised  essentially 
in  the  fulfilment  of  the  following  conditions :  to 
repent,  to  believe,  to  be  baptized,  to  keep  the  com- 


160  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

mandments,  to  do  penance  if  one  has  sinned,  to 
receive  worthily  the  sacraments,  especially  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  to  undergo  purgation  after  death, 
if  one  is  not  free  from  all  guilt  and  stain:  These 
conditions  are  not  all  necessary  for  all  persons. 
That  which  is  alone  subjectively  necessary  and  in- 
dispensable to  the  salvation  of  a  soul  is  the  absence 
of  original  and  actual  sin,  and  the  presence  of  sanc- 
tifying grace.  Therefore  the  only  condition  re- 
quisite for  the  salvation  of  an  infant  is  that  it  be. 
regenerated.  The  baptized  child  who  attains  the 
use  of  reason  has  no  need  of  the  conditions  required 
of  an  adult  person  as  the  predisposition  for  bap- 
tism. If  he  commits  no  mortal  sin,  he  has  no  need 
of  repentance  and  penance  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
words.  If  he  is  free  from  every  stain  at  the  hour 
of  death,  he  has  no  need  of  purgatory.  For  the  in- 
fant, sanctifying  grace  ;  for  the  adult,  in  addition  to 
habitual  grace,  an  actual  faith  informed  by  love  and 
producing  the  fruit  of  good  works,  is  therefore  the 
inherent  quality  which  justifies,  and,  when  perfect, 
justifies  completely.  But  that  this  indispensable 
condition  may  be  verified  in  particular  persons,  ac- 
cording to  their  state  and  circumstances,  the  other 
conditions  specified,  in  so  far  as  they  are  possible 
and  requisite,  must  be  fulfilled.  Therefore  I  have 
called  them  essential  conditions,  because  they  are 
all  the  conditions   which  constitute   the   essence  of 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  161 

the  way  of  salvation  as  a  provision  for  all  men  under 
all  varieties  of  state  and  circumstances.  If  these 
are  all  the  conditions,  they  are  the  only  conditions, 
and  there  can  be  no  other  conditions  separate  in 
their  nature  from  these,  or  not  in  some  way  in- 
cluded or  implied  in  them,  or  following  necessarily 
from  them.  Nevertheless,  this  is  not  the  complete 
account  of  the  matter,  but  there  still  remains  some- 
thing which  is,  as  it  were,  the  substratum  of  these 
conditions,  and  necessary  to  their  existence  and 
fulfilment.  This  is  the  one,  true  church  established 
by  Jesus  Christ,  in  which  his  faith,  his  law,  his  sac- 
raments, have  their  subsistence,  and  in  which  alone 
the  individual  Christian  can  comply  with  the  condi- 
tions requisite  for  his  salvation. 

In  the  order  of  nature  it  is  only  necessary  for  the 
individual  life,  health,  and  perfection  of  each  sepa- 
rate human  being  that  he  should  be  born,  possess 
the  means  of  sustenance,  growth,  health,  activity, 
in  his  animal  and  rational  nature,  observe  the  natural 
laws,  and  direct  his  actions  to  the  end  prefixed  by  his 
Creator.  But  these  are  all  impossible  for  him,  ex- 
cept as  a  member  of  the  human  species,  as  a  unit  in 
a  multitude  of  similar  beings,  having  the  same  ori- 
gin and  bound  together  in  a  society  by  common 
laws.  The  unity  and  organic  principles  of  the  hu- 
man race  are  the  substratum  of  the  life  and  well- 
being  of  each  individual.     It  is  the  same  in  the  order 


1 62  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

of  grace.  The  church  is  the  regenerated  human 
species  under  its  head,  Jesus  Christ,  the  second 
Adam  ;  the  divine  society  of  true  believers  and  sub- 
jects of  the  Redeemer  of  mankind  ;  and  it  is  only 
as  a  member  of  this  society  that  the  individual 
Christian  is  constituted  in  his  supernatural  person- 
ality with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  Christian, 
and  the  ability  to  work  out  his  own  salvation  by  his 
own  free  acts  concurring  with  the  grace  of  God. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  topics  I  have  to 
treat  of;  in  fact,  the  one  which  includes  and  involves 
all  the  rest.  I  shall  therefore  devote  all  the  remain- 
ing part  of  this  treatise  to  its  thorough  and  ample 
explication. 


CHAPTER     FIFTH. 

Of  the  Church— Its  Unity  and  Authority— Of  the  Rule  of  Faith 
— The  Mystics — Luther's  Doctrine  of  Private  Illumination — Of 
Teaching  Authority  in  General — Of  Infallibility — Various  The- 
ories Examined  and  Tested — The  Validity  of  the  Argument 
from  Scripture  Established — Indirect,  Negative,  Cumulative,  and 
Presumptive  Proofs  that  the  Catholic  Church  alone  is  the  True 
Church. 

THE  proposition  which  I  intend  to  prove,  and 
to  prove  fundamentally  and  principally  from 
the  Holy  Scripture,  is,  that  God  has  established,  as 
the  necessary  means  of  the  salvation  of  the  human 
race,  a  society  which  in  its  nature  is  one  and  uni- 
versal— that  is,  a  catholic  church  ;  and  that  it  is  in 
itself  necessary,  and  both  as  a  consequence  from  this 
necessity,  and  by  a  positive  divine  precept,  strictly 
and  indispensably  obligatory  on  each  individual  to 
be  a  member  of  this  church,  in  order  to  his  salva- 
tion. This  is  a  proposition  which  those  Protestants 
who  are  called  orthodox  cannot  deny  to  be  true  in 
a  general  sense.  But  I  intend  to  prove  that  it  is 
not  only  true  in  this  sense,  but  also  in  the  strict, 
proper,  and  specifically  Catholic  sense  ;  and  by 
means  of  it  to  identify  the  one,  true  church  estab*. 

x6. 


164  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

lished   by  Jesus   Christ,   into  which    every    man  is 
bound  to  enter  in  order  to  attain  salvation. 

This  supernatural  society,  one  and  universal  in 
its  essence,  was  instituted  at  the  same  time  that  the 
human  race  was  created.  Adam  and  Eve  were 
bound  together  by  a  supernatural  as  well  as  a  natu- 
ral bond  which  made  them  one  in  the  Son  of  God, 
by  the  grace  of  a  divine  filiation  to  the  Father,  in 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  entire  human  race  existed  in 
them,  not  actually,  but  potentially,  as  the  parents 
and  heads  of  all  mankind,  not  only  in  respect 
to  the  order  of  generation  and  natural  life,  but  also 
of  regeneration  and  supernatural  life.  According 
to  the  primitive  order  of  original  justice,  human  so- 
ciety would  have  been  a  spiritual,  a  political,  and  a 
social  organization  all  in  one ;  the  church,  the  state, 
the  family,  being  distinct,  but  not  separate,  with 
one  religion,  one  law,  one  language,  and  perpetual 
peace  uniting  all  mankind  in  one  common  family 
whose  father  was  God.  This  order  was  broken  up 
by  the  sin  of  our  first  parents,  who  forfeited  the 
right  of  transmitting  regeneration  to  their  posterity, 
together  with  the  forfeiture  of  their  own  personal 
rights  as  children  of  God.  This  order  being,  how- 
ever, restored  in  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  the  re- 
generate and  spiritual  society  of  men  under  his 
headship  must  necessarily  have  been  restored. 
Moreover,  as  his  work  was  one  both  of  rebuilding  a 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  165 

ruined  world,  and  of  perpetual  warfare  against  a  hos- 
tile power  and  kingdom  which  had  gained  a  footing 
on  the  earth,  it  was  necessary  that  the  organiza- 
tion, laws,  and  whole  exterior  discipline  of  this 
society  should  receive  a  higher  degree  of  unity, 
strength,  and  force  than  that  which  was  possessed 
by  the  original  society.  And  as  it  was  developed, 
extended,  and  engaged  in  more  vast  works  and  a 
more  arduous  warfare  in  the  progress  of  ages  and 
the  continued  evolution  of  the  destinies  of  man 
toward  their  consummation,  it  would  require  an  in- 
creasing consolidation,  a  more  compact  unity  and 
force,  an  augmentation  both  of  its  power  of  resist- 
ance and  its  power  of  aggression.  So  long  as  the 
human  race  was  restricted  within  the  bounds  of  one 
family,  the  church  was  not  distinct  from  the  family ; 
and  so  long  as  human  society  was  composed  of  an 
aggregation  of  closely-related  families  under  a  patri- 
archal organization,  the  church  was  identical  with 
this  patriarchal  state,  until  the  apostasy  of  a  large 
part  of  mankind  from  the  true  religion  or  bond  of 
unity  broke  up  the  first  state  of  society  and 
brought  on  the  Deluge.  This  same  patriarchal  or- 
der was  renewed  in  the  family  of  Noah,  but  very 
soon  gave  place  to  the  breaking-up  of  the  human 
race  into  separate  tribes  and  nations.  Unity  of 
language,  of  religion,  of  laws,  of  sentiments,  and  of 
ends  was  lost   amonsr  mankind  as  a  universal  soci- 


1 66  The   Way  of  Salvation. 

ety,  and  henceforth  was  restricted  within  the  sphere 
of  one  nation,  until  the  time  of  the  advent  of  the 
Redeemer.  The  calling  of  Abraham  inaugurated 
the  new  dispensation  of  Israel,  and  the  divine  lega- 
tion of  Moses,  the  forerunner  and  type  of  Christ, 
gave  it  an  organic  law.  All  this  was  only  prefa- 
tory to  the  foundation  of  the  Catholic  Church  by 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Redeemer  and  Restorer  of  mankind. 
The  end  of  the  redemption  wrought  out  by  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  restoration  of  the  human  race  to  the 
unity  of  the  supernatural  order  in  God.  The  means 
by  which  this  restoration  is  effected  is  the  church, 
the  last  and  most  highly-organized  institution  which 
God  has  established  for  the  consummation  of  the 
final  end  for  which  he  has  created  the  world.  It 
must  therefore  contain  within  itself  all  those  princi- 
ples and  forces  which  produce  unification  in  the 
most  perfect  manner,  both  intensively  and  exten- 
sively, and  its  operation  must  consequently  exhibit 
both  the  intensity  and  the  extension  of  these  forces 
in  a  manifest  and  visible  unity  of  the  highest  de- 
gree and  the  most  universal  dominion. 

In  order  to  understand  this  fully  it  is  necessary 
to  premise  some  explanation  of  the  nature  of  unity 
in  general,  and  of  the  unity  of  the  supernatural 
order  in  particular.  Unity  is  defined  by  St.  Thomas 
to  be  undivided  being,  to  which,  in  respect  to  other 
beings,   must   be  added,  which   is  divided   from  all 


The  Way  of  Salvation*  \6j 

others.  The  most  perfect  unity  is  that  of  a  simple 
essence,  which  is  undivided  and  indivisible.  The 
highest  kind  of  indivisibility  belongs  to  that  essence 
which  is  the.  most  absolutely  simple  or  free  from  all 
composition  whatever,  which  is  the  invisible  and 
ineffable  essence  of  God.  In  him  alone,  therefore, 
is  absolute,  essential  unity,  and  in  the  world  of  cre- 
ated beings,  the  highest  kind  of  unity  is  found  only 
in  spirits,  whose  nature  is  not  divisible  into  parts, 
but  is  simple  substance.  Unity  in  plurality  exists 
absolutely  and  perfectly  only  in  God,  who  is  One 
Essence  in  Three  Persons.  In  this  Trinity  of  Persons 
there  is  no  real  distinction  between  the  Essence  and 
the  Persons,  for  the  Infinite  Being  whom,  we  call  by 
the  name  of  God  is  the  Three  Persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  ;  wherefore  these  three  names  de- 
note, not  a  distinction  of  essence,  but  only  of  person- 
ality— a  mystery  which  is  entirely  above  our  reason. 
Next  in  order  to  this  perfect  unity  of  essence  in  a 
plurality  of  persons  is  the  unity  of  person  in  a  du- 
ality of  natures,  or  what  is  called  the  hypostatic 
union  of  the  human  with  the  divine  nature  in  the 
person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  pure  creatures 
the  highest  and  most  perfect  union  with  God  to 
which  they  can  be  raised  is  one  which  leaves  them 
not  only  in  their  own  distinct  nature,  but  also  in 
their  distinct  personality.  Each  one  of  these  ele- 
vated creatures  is  a  being  in  himself,  with  his  own 


1 68  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

complete  unity  by  which  he  is  undivided  in  his  own 
subsistence,  and  divided  from  all  others ;  that  is  to 
say,  exists  as  a  separate  individual.  His  union  with 
God  is  a  participation  in  a  limited  degree  in  that 
light  and  love  which  are  the  life  of  God,  communi- 
cated to  him  by  the  Divine  Spirit.  The  common 
participation  of  this  life  by  a  multitude  of  distinct 
persons  constitutes  their  mutual  union  with  each 
other  in  one  society ;  that  is,  they  are  united  to- 
gether by  a  common  beatific  knowledge  and  love  of 
God,  necessarily  producing  a  perfect  love  toward 
one  another.  This  society  is  what  is  called  the 
church  triumphant,  whose  members  are  the  blessed 
angels  and  men  who  are  in  heaven,  and  whose  Head 
is  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  all  are  one  in  God. 

Those  who  are  on  the  way  to  this  beatific  union 
must  necessarily  partake  in  it  in  a  manner  suited  to 
the  prefatory  state  in  which  they  are.  They  must 
be  united  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ,-  and  unit- 
ed with  all  those  who  are  thus  united  with  God,  by 
some  participation  of  the  divine  light  and  love, 
which  is  the  beginning  of  that  which  is  made  per- 
fect in  the  celestial  beatitude.  This  incipient  beati- 
tude and  inchoate  principle  of  union  with  God  is 
that  faith  which  is  informed  by  love.  God  and  the 
Saints  in  heaven  are  one  in  the  beatific  vision.  This 
is  essentially  a  spiritual  and  intellectual  union,  hav- 
ing its  seat  in  the  purely  spiritual  essence  of  God, 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  169 

and  in  the  highest,  most  spiritual,  most  simple  ele- 
ment of  the  rational  nature  of  the  beatified  man  or 
angel.  The  same  principle  of  unity  and  order, 
however,  extends  itself  throughout  every  part  of 
the  universe,  and  binds  all  together  in  one  whole. 
This  order  and  harmony  is  subordinate  to  the  glori- 
fication and  beatification  of  the  saints,  and  ministers 
to  its  completion.  In  a  like  manner  the  kingdom 
of  God  on  earth  is,  in  the  highest  part  of  its  essence, 
spiritual ;  and  its  inward,  organic  principle  is  a  spir- 
itual bond  which  binds  together  the  children  of  God 
on  earth  in  a  spiritual  union,  which  is  the  beginning 
of  the  perfect  union  of  heaven.  All  external  means, 
all  institutions,  all  organization,  in  the  visible  and 
sensible  order,  are  conditions,  means,  effects,  or  in 
some  way  subordinate  parts  of  this  unity,  the  soul 
of  which  is  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  whose 
vital  movements  are  faith,  hope,  and  charity.  This 
entire,  composite  whole  constitutes  the  church  mili- 
tant on  earth,  the  society  of  the  faithful  which  is 
one  and  universal,  or  a  universal  unity. 

The  explanations  already  made  of  the  nature  of 
unity  are  sufficient  to  make  it  clearly  intelligible 
that  this  universal  unity  is  something  different  from 
the  unity  of  a  single  individual ;  that  it  exists  with- 
out any  prejudice  to  the  separate  individual  exist- 
ence of  the  parts  composing  it  ;  and  that  it  has  a 
true  objective  reality,  not  one  which  is  merely  in 


1 70  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

name   or   in   the   conception    of    the   mind.      The 
foundation  of  it  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  unity 
in  plurality  which  exists  in  the  Being  of  God,  who 
is    one    in  Three    Persons.      The     universal    unity 
which  unites  the  whole  multitude  of  distinct,  sepa- 
rate individuals  who  compose  the  supernatural  so- 
ciety into  one  church,  triumphant,  suffering,  and 
militant,  is  an  imitation  of  the  uni.ty  in  Trinity,  and 
of  the  hypostatic  union  of  two  natures  in  the  One 
Person  of  Jesus  Christ.     The  name  universal \  ex- 
plained  according  to  its  etymology,  expresses  the 
whole  notion  of  all  the  universals,  and  of  the  uni- 
versal church  specifically.     It  is  unum  versus  alia — 
that  which  is   one  in   respect  to  divers  things.     It 
denotes  that  unity  which  has  an  aptitude  or  capa- 
bility of  existing  in  many  things.     For  instance,  let 
us  take  the  essence  of  finite  spiritual  being.     It  con- 
sists in  intelligence,  and  exists  by  the  creative  act 
of  God    in  all   created    spirits,  however   numerous 
they  may  be.     It  is  their  common  nature,  by  virtue 
of  which  they  are  capable  of  society  with  each  other, 
through  a  mutual  communication  and  concurrence 
of  thought  and  of  consequent  volition,  and  are  sepa- 
rated from    any  similar  society  with    any   inferior 
natures  by  an  impassable  chasm.     In  pure  spirits 
the  power  and  act  of  intelligence  are  determined  to 
a  specific  nature  and  operation  which  is  simply  and 
exclusively  intellectual.     As  purely  intellectual  be- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  171 

ings,  the  angels  are  therefore  by  their  nature  capa-' 
ble  of  a  more  perfect  society  with  one  another  than 
with  any  intelligent  nature  of  an  inferior  order.  In 
the  human  species  intelligent  spirit  exists  in  the 
form  of  a  soul  which  is  rational  in  distinction  from 
the  purely  intellectual  nature  of  the  angel,  and  de- 
termined by  its  specific  essence  to  be  the  form — that 
is,  the  vital  principle — of  a  body.  Man  is  a  rational 
animal ;  and,  as  such,  he  is  by  nature  capable  of  a 
more  perfect  society  with  those  of  his  own  species 
than  with  those  of  any  other.  The  essence  of  hu- 
manity is  composed  of  two  constituent  parts,  ani- 
mality  and  rationality.  This  specific  essence  is  a 
universal ;  it  is  a  one,  which  has  an  aptitude  to  exist 
in  many,  and  can  be  multiplied  in  an  indefinite 
number  of  separate  individuals.  When  it  is  pro- 
duced into  actual  being,  the  composition  of  the 
essence  with  existence  makes  the  individual  man. 
All  individual  men,  therefore,  bear  a  perfect  simili- 
tude to  each  other  in  respect  to  all  that  which  con- 
stitutes them  human  beings,  so  that  there  lies  in 
their  very  nature  an  aptitude  for  society  with  each 
other,  and  an  inclination  to  this  society  or  to  com- 
mon social  occupations  and  enjoyments.  But  this 
is  not  the  only  bond  of  unity  and  brotherhood 
among  men. '  The  unity  of  the  species,  which  in- 
cludes the  generic  reason  making  man  an  animal, 
with  the  specific  reason  which  makes  him  rational, 


172  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

is  a  unity  which  not  only  gives  to  all  men  a  simili- 
tude of  nature,  but  also  a  common  origin  and  a 
blood-relationship.  Man  belongs  to  that  order  of 
beings  which  are  multiplied  by  generation.  And 
whatever  may  be  the  case  with  inferior  species  of 
animals  or  with  plants,  it  is  certainly  a  revealed 
fact,  supported  by  all  the  scientific  evidence  accessi- 
ble to  us,  that  all  men  are  descended  from  one  pair 
of  parents.  There  is,  therefore,  a  natural  society, 
constituted  by  the  very  creation  of  the  first  man  and 
the  first  woman,  from  which  the  whole  human  race 
derives  its  existence,  and  of  which  each  man  is 
necessarily  by  his  birth  made  a  member  for  life. 
The  family,  the  primordial  social  unit,  is  a  necessary 
condition  of  human  existence  and  welfare.  It  is 
not  needful  to  show  the  natural  and  necessary  de- 
velopment of  the  family  into  the  more  extensive 
societies  in  which  men  have  always  been  associated 
together.  Enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  men 
cannot  exist  or  attain  any  natural  and  rational  end 
of  their  existence  in  a  state  of  mere  individuality 
and  singularity.  As  an  intelligent  creature  each 
man  is  necessarily  a  partaker  in  that  common,  spiri- 
tual nature  which  makes  one  order  in  the  universe, 
to  which  all  intelligent  creatures  belong.  As  one 
of  the  lowest  grade  in  this  order,  that  of  rational 
animals,  he  is  necessarily  a  partaker  in  the  common 
nature  of  humanity,  and  one  individual  of  a  species 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  173 

derived  by  generation  from  its  first  progenitors.  As 
a  child  he  is  one  of  a  family  which,  if  lawfully  con- 
stituted, originates  in  a  stable  and  permanent  union 
of  his  parents  in  marriage.  In  his  other  relations 
he  is  one  among  many  bound  together  in  society  by 
various  common  ends  and  common  laws. 

In  the  order  of  regeneration,  or  the  supernatural 
order,  the  same  principles  which  lie  at  the  base  of 
the  natural  order  under  which  the  intelligent  crea- 
tion is  constituted  are  elevated  to  a  higher  plane, 
but  remain  substantially  the  same.  The  unity  of 
the  essence  of  intelligent  beings  is  the  reason  of 
their  capacity  to  be  elevated  to  a  higher  common 
plane  in  the  supernatural  order,  and  to  share  to- 
gether in  a  common  beatitude  in  the  vision  of  God. 
In  this  higher  order  the  intellectual  and  rational 
natures  are  also  brought  nearer  together  and  united 
in  a  more  perfect  society  with  each  other.  The  hu- 
man nature,  in  the  Person  of  the  Eternal  Word,  is 
elevated  above  the  angelic  by  virtue  of  the  hypo- 
static union.  In  the  persons  of  glorified  men  it  is 
made,  by  adoption,  equal  to  the  angelic.  Angels 
and  men  form  one  perfect  society  or  kingdom  of 
heaven  by  their  subjection  to  one  Sovereign,  Jesus 
Christ,  by  their  filiation  to  One  Father,  God,  by 
their  communication  in  one  intellectual  act,  the  vision 
of  the  Divine  Essence  in  Three  Persons,  by  the  pos- 
session of  one  supreme  good,  by  unity  of  will,  by 


174  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

perpetual  and  perfect  mutual  love,  by  being  made, 
each  and  every  one,  a  part  of  a  grand,  symmetrical 
whole,  a  single  masterpiece  of  divine  art  in  a  grand 
gallery  of  celestial,  spiritual  beauty,  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  the  infinite  Creator,  who  is  their  arche- 
type. The  supernatural  being  which  is  given  them, 
whose  last  complement  is  the  light  of  glory  by 
which  they  are  made  capable  of  receiving  the  bea- 
tific intuition  of  God,  although  not  a  new  essence, 
is  nevertheless  a  new  determination  of  the  intelli- 
gent power  to  an  act  infinitely  above  its  nature.  It 
is  sanctifying  grace  which  is  the  elevating  principle, 
or  rather,  which  contains  within  itself  the  elevating 
principle,  and  constitutes  the  new  quality  of  the 
ennobled  nature.  Sanctifying  grace  effects  the  ac- 
tual union  of  the  elevated  nature  with  God  in  the 
Person  of  the  Word,  by  a  kind  of  participation  of 
the  hypostatic  union  of  created  with  uncreated  be- 
ing in  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  God  and  man.  We  may 
call  it,  therefore,  in  a  certain  way,  the  differentia  of 
a  new,  supernatural  species,  which  includes  under 
itself  all  the  genera  and  species  of  intelligent  crea- 
tures which  are  known  to  us — that  is,  all  angels  and 
men,  in  so  far  as  these  are  raised  to  a  supernatural 
state.  As  all  angels  are  made  angels  by  participat- 
ing in  the  angelic,  intellectual  nature,  and  all  men 
are  made  men  by  participating  in  human  nature,  so 
all  the  sons  of  God  are  made  sons  of  God  by  par- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  175 

ticipating  in  sanctifying  grace.  The  elevated  or 
regenerate  nature  is  a  universal,  or  a  one  which 
has  aptitude  to  exist  in  many  spiritual  genera, 
species,  and  individuals.  Those  who  have  it  in  its 
proper  actuality  as  sanctifying  grace,  and  only  those, 
whether  they  are  in  heaven,  in  purgatory,  or  on  the 
earth,  constitute  that  spiritual  society  in  union  with 
God  which  is  called,  in  the  highest  sense  of  that 
word,  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  of  these,  only 
such  as  actually  attain  the  state  of  glory  constitute 
the  perfect  and  everlasting  church,  or  kingdom  of 
heaven.  There  is,  however,  a  temporary  union  with 
the  church,  and  also  one  which  is  partial  and  imper- 
fect, during  the  period  of  its  formation  ;  so  that  in 
its  more  extensive  sense  the  church  is  a  society  in- 
cluding many  members  who  become  finally  repro- 
bates, and  many  who  are  not  in  the  state  of  grace. 
The  union  of  the  beatified  with  God  is  perfect  and 
indissoluble.  The  union  of  the  unbeatified,  who 
are  in  the  inchoate  order  of  grace  which  is  a  medi- 
um between  the  state  of  nature  and  the  state  of 
supernatural  glory,  is  imperfect,  and  in  its  nature 
dissoluble.  It  has,  moreover,  its  grades  of  relative 
perfection,  and  its  own  particular  conditions,  suited 
to  an  inchoate  and  intermediate  order.  Its  essence 
is  therefore  modified,  and  various  accidents  are 
added  to  it,  qualifying  its  state  and  condition  as  it 
actually  exists  and  operates  during  the  state  of  pro- 


176  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

bation  on  the  earth.  The  church,  as  one  and  uni- 
versal, in  respect  to  that  collection  of  individuals 
who  are  its  members  on  the  earth,  must,  therefore, 
possess  in  addition  to  its  essential  and  eternal  prin- 
ciple of  unity,  another  which  is  inherent  in  it, 
and  which  is  the  principle  of  an  accidental  and 
temporary  unity.  The  church  universal  on  the 
earth  has  in  its  very  nature  the  oneness  per 
se,  which  has  been  already  explained,  in  which 
each  individual  participates,  and  which  has  its 
living,  active  operation  in  faith,  hope,  and  cha- 
rity. It  has  also  a  oneness  per  accidens,  which 
consists  in  an  exterior,  visible  organization  and 
order,  containing  all  the  means  and  institutions, 
all  the  instruments  and  laws — in  a  word,  all  the 
complex  arrangement  of  second  causes  which  is 
necessary  to  produce,  extend,  increase,  and  perpet- 
uate, through  the  power  communicated  and  con- 
curring of  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  regeneration  of 
men  and  their  union  with  God  by  faith,  hope,  and 
charity.  This  unity  is  not  called  per  accidens  be- 
cause it  is  something  fortuitous  or  unnecessary.  %  It 
is  not  the  accidental  unity  of  a  mere  heap  of  stones, 
which  is  only  a  unity  of  aggregation,  but  a  unity  of 
order,  "which  consists  in  this:  that  a  number  of 
distinct  parts  are  bound  together  by  an  intelligent 
cause  according  to  a  fixed  plan,  in  such  a  manner 
that    in    their    connection    they    form   an    organic 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  177 

whole."*  The  unity  of  a  building,  of  a  university, 
of  an  army,  is  a  unity  of  this  kind.  It  is  called  per 
acczdens,  because  the  union  of  parts  is  produced  by 
an  extrinsic,  and  not  an  intrinsic,  cause.  This  par- 
ticular accidental  unity  of  the  church  of  which 
I  am  speaking  is  also  accidental  in  respect  to 
its  essential  being,  inasmuch  as  it  is  something 
which  accedes  to  it,  or  is  superadded,  in  order 
that  it  may  exercise  its  proper  operation  with  per- 
fection. 

Thus  far  I  have  been  reasoning  from  principles 
derived  partly  from  reason  and  partly  from  revelation, 
without  adducing  direct  proofs  from  the  Scripture. 
But  in  great  part  I  have  stated  what  is  admitted  as 
true  by  standard  Protestant  authors,  and  specifically 
by  Calvinists,  and  I  have  been  only  preparing  the  way 
for  a  right  understanding  of  my  proposition  respect- 
ing the  church,  and  of  the  proofs  which  I  intend  to 
bring  forward.  But  before  I  proceed  with  the  main 
argument,  I  will  first  cite  a  few  of  the  passages  of 
Holy  Scripture  in  which  are  contained  the  several 
principal  doctrinal  statements  which  I  have  made  as 
preliminary  to  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  constitu- 
tion of  the  catholic  church  militant. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Have  I  been  so  long  time 
with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ? 
he  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father.  .  .  . 
*  Stockl,  "  Lehrb.der  Phil.  Ontol.,"  sec.  97. 


178  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  me  ?  .  .  .  And  I  will  pray  the  Father, 
and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he 
may  abide  with  you  for  ever ;  the  Spirit  of  truth  ; 
.  .  .  for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in 
you.  .  .  .  And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they 
might  know  thee  the  only  true  God.*  .  . 
Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also 
which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word  ;  that 
they  all  may  be  one  ;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and 
I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us.  .  .  . 
And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given 
them  ;  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one  :  I 
in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made 
perfect  in  one.  .  .  .  Father,  I  will  that  they 
also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me  where 
I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  which  thou 
hast  given  me  :  for  thou  lovedst  me  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world."  f 

"  For  through  him  we  both  have  access  by  one 
Spirit  unto  the  Father.  Now  therefore  ye  are  no 
more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God  ;  and 
are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  cor- 
ner-stone ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  to- 
gether groweth  unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  :  in 

#  St.  John  xiv.  9,  10,  16,  17  ;  xvii.  3.  f  Ibid.  xvii.  20-24. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  179 

whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a  habitation 
of  God  through  the  Spirit.  .  .  .  The  fellowship 
of  the  mystery,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  hath  been  hid  in  God,  who  created  all  things 
by  Jesus  Christ :  to  the  intent  that  now  unto  the 
principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might 
be  known  by  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
God.  .  .  .  For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the 
whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named.  .  .  . 
Unto  him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.  .  .  . 
I  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you 
that  ye  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye 
are  called,  ...  endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.  There  is  one 
body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling  ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  bap- 
tism, one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all, 
and  through  all,  and  in  you  all.  But  unto  every  one 
of  us  is  given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the 
gift  of  Christ.  .  .  .  For  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  .work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying 
of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity 
of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  * 

*  Ephesians  ii.  18-22  ;  iii.  9-11,  14,  15,  21 ;  iv.  1,  3-7,  12,  13. 


i8o  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

"  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  man- 
ners spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by 
his  Son,  whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things, 
by  whom  also  he  made  the  worlds  ;  who  being  the 
brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of 
his  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of 
his  power,  when  he  had  by  himself  purged  our  sins, 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high  ; 
being  made  so  much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he 
hath  by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent  name 
than  they.  .  .  .  Are  they  not  all  ministering 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them  who  shall  be 
heirs  of  salvation  ?  .  .  .  For  unto  the  angels  hath 
he  not  put  in  subjection  the  world  to  come,  where- 
of we  speak.  But  one  in  a  certain  place  testified, 
saying,  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ? 
or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him  ?  Thou 
madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  ;  thou 
crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honor,  and  didst  set 
him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands ;  thou  hast  put 
all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.  .  .  .  But 
now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him.  But 
we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor.''  * 

"  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath 
*  Hebrews  c.c.  i.,  ii. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  181 

made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light ;  who  hath  delivered  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  hath  translated  us  into  the 
kingdom  of  his  dear  Son :  .  .  .  who  is  the  im- 
age of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of  every 
creature  :  for  by  him  were  all  things  created,  that 
are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  in- 
visible, whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or 
principalities,  or  powers  :  all  things  were  created  by 
him,  and  for  him  :  and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by 
him  all  things  consist.  And  he  is  the  head  of  the 
body,  the  church  :  who  is  the  beginning,  the  first- 
born from  the  dead  :  that  in  all  things  he  might 
have  the  pre-eminence.  For  it  pleased  the  Father 
that  in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell ;  and,  having 
made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him 
to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself;  by  him,  I  say, 
whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven. 
.  .  .  And  ye  are  complete  in  him,  which  is  the 
head  of  all  principality  and  power:  .  .  buried 
with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with 
him.  .  .  .  If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ, 
.  .  .  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  When 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also 
appear  with  him  in  glory.  .  .  .  Ye  have  put 
off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds;  and  have  put  on 
the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after 
the  image  of  him  that  created  him.     .     .     .     Put 


1 82  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

on  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  .  .  .  charity 
which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness.  And  let  the  peace 
of  God  rale  in  your  hearts,  to  the  which  also  ye  are 
called  in  one  body."  * 

"  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same 
Spirit.  And  there  are  differences  of  administrations, 
but  the  same  Lord.  And  there  are  diversities  of 
operations,  but  it  is  the  same  God  which  worketh 
all  in  all.  .  .  .  But  all  these  worketh  that  one 
and  the  self-same  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  sev- 
erally as  he  will.  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath 
many  members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one 
body,  being  many,  are  one  body :  so  also  is  Christ. 
For  by  one  Spirit  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  body, 
.  .  .  and  have  been  made  to  drink  into  one 
spirit.  .  .  .  And  yet  shew  I  unto  you  a  more 
excellent  way.  .  .  .  Charity  never  faileth :  but 
whether  there  be  prophecies  they  shall  fail ; 
whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease  ;  whether 
there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away.  For  we 
know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part.  But  when 
that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then,  that  which  is 
in  part  shall  be  done  away.  .  .  .  For  now  we 
see  through  a  glass,  darkly  ;  but  then  face  to  face  : 
now  I  know  in  part  ;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as 
also  I  am  known.  And  now  abideth  faith,  hope, 
charity,  these  three  ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
*Coloss.  i.  12-20  ;  ii.  10,  12  ;  iii,  1-4,  9,  10,  12,  14, 15. 


The   Way  of  Salvation.  183 

charity.  .  .  .  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so 
in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  But  every  man  in 
his  own  order :  Christ  the  first-fruits  ;  afterward  they 
that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  Then  cometh  the 
end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom 
to  God,  even  the  Father ;  when  he  shall  have  put 
down  all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power.  For  he 
must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his 
feet.  .  .  .  And  when  all  things  shall  be  sub- 
dued unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son  also  himself  be 
subject  unto  him  that  put  all  things  under  him,  that 
God  may  be  all  in  all."  * 

"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual 
blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  .  .  .  hav- 
ing made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will, 
.  .  .  that  in  the  fulness  of  times  he  might  gather 
together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are 
in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth;  .  .  .  accord- 
ing to  the  working  of  his  mighty  power,  which  he 
wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the 
heavenly  places,  far  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that 
which  is  to  come :  and  hath  put  all  things  under  his 
feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things  to 

*  1  Cor.  xii.  4-13,  31  ;  xiii.  8-13  ;  xv.  22-28. 


184  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him 
that  filleth  all  iff  all."* 

"  For  ye  are  not  come  unto  the  mount  that  might 
be  touched.  .  .  .  But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount 
Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  hea- 
venly Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company 
of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to 
God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new 
covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speak- 

eth  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel 

Whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth :  but  now  he 
hath  promised,  saying,  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not 
the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven.  And  this  word, 
Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made, 
that  those  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may 
remain.  Wherefore  we  receiving  a  kingdom  which 
cannot  be  moved,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we 
may  serve  God  acceptably  with  godly  fear."  f 
"  And  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my 
Father  hath  appointed  unto  me  ;  that  ye  may  eat 
and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom,  and  sit  on 
thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  % 
"  He  was  taken  up,  after  that  he  through  the  Holy 

*  Eph.  i.  3,  9,  10,  19-23.  f  Hcb.  xii.  18-28. 

\  St.  Luke  xxii.  29,  30. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  185 

Ghost  had  given  commandments  unto  the  apostles 
whom  he  had  chosen  :  to  whom  also  he  had  showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infallible 
proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speaking 
of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God  : 
and,  being  assembled  together  with  them,  com- 
manded them  that  they  should  not  depart  from  Je- 
rusalem, but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father, 
which,  saith  he,  ye  have  heard  of  me.  For  John 
truly  baptized  with  water ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence.  When 
they  therefore  were  come  together,  they  asked  of 
him,  saying,  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore 
again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?  And  he  said  unto 
them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the 
seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power.  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you."  * 

That  the  apostles,  after  they  had  "  received 
power,"  did  found  a  visible  Christian  church,  with 
a  clergy,  sacraments,  government,  public  worship, 
and  at  least  one  holyday,  is  believed  by  all  orthodox 
Protestants.  They  all  believe  in  some  sense  that 
article  of  the  Creed,  "  the  Holy,  Catholic  Church." 
Even  Congregationalists  or  Independents  admit 
that  there  is  a  certain  type  or  form  of  outward,  visi- 
ble organization,  according  to  which  all  particular 
*  Acts  i.  2-8. 


1 86  The  Way  of  Salvation, 

churches  ought  to  be  constituted,  and  that  all  these 
ought  to  be  united  together  in  mutual  fellowship 
and  communion.  It  is  not  necessary,  therefore,  to 
prove  that  there  is  a  visible  church  which  is  the  or- 
dinary means  of  salvation,  or  to  prove  the  import- 
ance and  obligation  of  some  kind  of  unity  binding 
together  all  the  members  of  this  church. 

The  point  to  be  proved  is  that  the  visible  church 
is  constituted  in  a  strict  organic  unity,  as  one  soci- 
ety, one  kingdom,  one  body,  undivided  in  itself  and 
divided  from  all  other  societies,  unchangeable,  per- 
petual, exclusive,  sovereign — a  church,  "one,  holy, 
catholic,  and  apostolic,"  in  the  strict  Catholic  sense 
as  distinguished  from  each  and  every  Protestant 
variation. 

I  shall  prove  this,  first,  by  deduction  from  what 
has  been  already  proved.  It  has  been  proved  that 
grace  is  conferred  through  sacraments,  which  cannot 
be  lawfully  and  efficaciously  received  except  on 
condition  of  certain  dispositions  respecting  both 
faith  and  morals ;  and  that  the  state  of  grace  itself 
exacts  the  fulfilment  of  a  certain  fixed  law  of  reli- 
gion and  morality,  in  which  true  Christian  and  jus- 
tifying righteousness  essentially  consists,  and 
through  which  heaven  is  to  be  obtained  as  its  due 
reward.  Now,  these  things  cannot  exist  with  cer- 
tainty and  stability  ;  except  in  a  perfectly-organized 
society,  in  which  there  is  a  sovereign  authority  de- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  187 

termiuing  faith,  discipline,  and  morals  ;  without  a 
perpetual  miracle.  Nothing  can  be  more  obvious 
than  this  must  be  to  any  one  who  will  reflect  on  it 
attentively. 

First,  in  respect  to  the  sacraments  themselves ; 
their  number,  their  nature,  the  conditions  of  their 
valid  and  lawful  administration,  must  be  certainly 
defined,  and  provision  must  be  made  for  their  re- 
ception by  all  persons,  everywhere,  and  through  all 
time,  who  are  desirous  of  receiving  them  and  are 
properly  disposed.  All  this  requires  that  authority 
to  teach,  to  make  laws,  to  judge  and  decide  upon 
all  questions  and  all  cases-  arising  out  of  the  admin- 
istration of  the  sacraments,  should  be  delegated  by 
God  to  certain  persons.  This  authority  must  ex- 
tend over  the  whole  church  and  all  its  members 
throughout  the  world  and  until  the  end  of  time. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  show  this  more  minutely  in 
respect  to  one  sacrament  only — the  sacrament  of 
baptism.  First,  as  to  the  ministers  of  the  sacra- 
ment. As  it  is  a  sacrament  of  initiation  into  the 
church,  the  right  to  administer  it  must  be  confided 
to  certain  persons  having  authority  to  examine  and 
instruct  candidates,  to  judge  of  their  qualification 
for  membership,  and  to  give  them  legal  admission. 
These  persons  must  be  designated  by  a  fixed  and 
uniform  law,  and  there  can  be  no  law  without  legis- 
lators and  judges,  without  subordination  of  inferior 


i88  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

to  superior  tribunals,  or  without  one  supreme  au- 
thority and  tribunal  of  the  last  resort.  If  there  is 
dispute  and  dissension  concerning  the  persons  who 
are  competent  to  give  baptism  validly  and  lawfully 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  doubt  and  uncertainty  are 
thrown  upon  the  true  way  of  salvation  at  its  very 
entrance.  How  can  one  know  whether  he  has  re- 
ceived the  real  sacrament  or  not,  unless  there  is  a 
judgment,  pronounced  by  a  supreme  tribunal  estab- 
lished by  Jesus  Christ  himself,  declaring  what  per- 
sons are  capable  of  administering  the  sacrament 
validly  ?  A  Catholic  knows  that  any  person  who- 
soever can  administer  the  sacrament  validly,  how- 
ever irregular  or  unlawful  his  act  may  be.  But  he 
knows  this  only  by  the  judgment  of  the  Holy  See. 
A  Protestant  cannot  know  whether  lay  baptism  or 
the  baptism  of  a  schismatical  minister  is  valid  or 
invalid,  nor  can  he  even  know  what  is  necessary  to 
make  a  man  a  real  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
validity  of  sacraments  administered  in  schism  and 
heresy  was  denied  by  St.  Cyprian  and  many  others 
before  the  Roman  Church  finally  decided  the  ques- 
tion. The  validity  of  any  baptism  not  administered 
by  a  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  who  has  received 
true  episcopal  ordination,  is  denied  by  a  number  of 
learned  Anglicans. 

The  necessary  matter  and   form  of -the  sacrament 
is  another  question  of  equal  importance,  which  has 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  189 

caused  a  great  schism  among  Protestants,  and 
which  cannot  be  decided  without  the  judgment  of 
a  supreme  tribunal  which  all  Christians  are  bound 
to  obey. 

The  subjects  capable  of  receiving  baptism  must 
also  be  determined.  Are  infants  and  idiots  capable 
or  incapable  subjects  ?  Are  persons  who  are  bap- 
tized without  the  required  inward  dispositions 
validly  baptized  or  not  ?  And  what  are  they  to  do, 
in  order  to  rectify  the  wrong  they  have  done  to 
themselves  and  to  God  by  receiving  a  sacrament  in 
a  sacrilegious-  manner? 

There  are,  moreover,  other  matters  to  be  deter- 
mined which  respect,  not  the  essence  of  the  sacra- 
ment and  the  conditions  of  its  validity,  but  its  re- 
gular and  lawful  administration.  It  is  evident  that 
only  those  lawfully  authorized  by  Jesus  Christ  have 
the  right  to  administer  the  sacrament,  whatever 
may  be  the  case  respecting  the  validity  of  the  act 
when  performed  by  other  persons.  It  is  equally 
evident  that  it  must  be  a  sin  to  receive  baptism  from 
any  person  who  is  not  lawfully  authorized  to  ad- 
minister it.  And  this  law,  again,  presupposes  a 
tribunal  and  a  judge  having  a  supreme  and  univer- 
sal authority  over  the  whole  church,  both  clergy  and 
people.  Without  it  endless  dissensions  and  schisms 
must  occur,  as  is  seen  from  the  history  of  all  sects 
which  have  separated  from  the  Roman  Church. 


190  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

The  dispositions  which  are  requisite  in  adult 
catechumens,  and  the  obligations  which  all  baptized 
persons  contract  in  the  sacrament,  make  it  still  more 
manifest  that  the  church  must  be  constituted 
in  a  strict  organic  unity  under  a  supreme  autho- 
rity. 

These  dispositions  and  obligations  relate,  in  the 
first  place,  to  faith.  A  catechumen  must  believe  in 
the  doctrines  revealed  by  God  through  the  prophets 
and  apostles,  as  a  condition  of  receiving  baptism 
worthily.  He  must  learn  these  doctrines  from  some 
certain  and  authentic  source.  The  church  is  the 
judge  of  the  correctness  and  sufficiency  of  his  faith, 
and  must  therefore  possess  a  standard  and  rule  of 
faith  which  is  explicit  and  invariable,  and  have  a 
magistracy  committed  to  certain  authorized  teach- 
ers and  judges,  who  must  be  the  same  persons  who 
are  authorized  to  admit  candidates  into  the  church 
through  baptism.  These  persons  are,  of  course,  the 
pastors  and  clergy  of  the  church.  And,  as  they  are 
necessarily  very  numerous,  it  is  impossible  that  they 
should  be  kept  to  a  correct  standard  and  rule  of 
teaching  and  judgment  without  an  authority  of 
superior  over  inferior  pastors,  who  are  relatively  few 
in  number,  without  tribunals  regularly  constituted, 
to  which  the  pastors  themselves  are  amenable,  and 
without  some  supreme  tribunal,  whose  jurisdiction 
is  universal,  by  which  the  chief  pastors  themselves 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  191 

are  regulated  and  kept  to  one  uniform  standard 
of  doctrine. 

The  baptized  person  must  continue  to  profess  the 
true  faith  as  a  condition  of  receiving  the  other 
sacraments,  remaining  in  the  state  of  justification, 
and  attaining  salvation.  He  must  educate  his 
children  in  the  same  faith.  He  is  responsible  to 
the  church,  as  well  as  to  God,  for  the  fulfilment  of 
this  obligation.  The  pastors  of  the  church  must, 
therefore,  teach  him  sound  doctrine,  warn  him 
against  all  errors  in  faith,  watch  over  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  children,  and  exercise  discipline  over 
him  if  he  goes  astray — even,  if  necessary,  excom- 
municate him.  If  there  are  diverse  teachers,  doc- 
trines, and  sects,  each  claiming  to  be  true  and  to 
possess  the  right  to  his  allegiance,  he  must  follow 
the  true  pastor,  the  true  doctrine,  the  true  church. 
This  teaching  authority,  this  doctrine,  this  church, 
must  be  the  one  established  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  same  in  all  times  and  places.  There  can  be  but 
one  way  of  salvation  for  all  men.  But  how  can  all 
men,  everywhere,  recognize  it,  unless  its  unity  is 
visible,  and  one  supreme  doctrinal  authority  deter- 
mines for  the  whole  world  which  are  the  legitimate 
pastors  who  teach  the  true  faith  and  govern  the 
true  church  ? 

The  second  condition  for  a  worthy  reception  of 
baptism  is  repentance  for  the  sins  which  the  person 


192  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

has  committed,  and  a  resolution  to  keep  the  whole 
law  of  God.  A  new  obligation  to  keep  the  natural 
law  springs  out  of  the  baptismal  vows,  and  an  obli- 
gation is  contracted  to  keep  the  specifically  Chris- 
tian precepts.  In  respect  to  these  moral  duties  the 
baptized  person  is  responsible  to  the  church,  and 
amenable  to  her  discipline.  The  church  is,  there- 
fore, the  judge  of  all  ethical  questions  and  relations, 
which  are  extremely  numerous,  minute,  and  compli- 
cated. How  can  the  member  of  the  church  guide 
himself  according  fo  her  true  teaching  111  respect  to 
morals,  be  secure  against  the  danger  of  false  teach- 
ing from  his  own  particular  pastors,  or  have  any 
safeguard  for  his  own  rights  of  conscience  against 
injustice  and  tyranny  on  their  part,  unless  there 
is  one  supreme  tribunal  to  which  all  alike  are  sub- 
ject, and  which  establishes  one  uniform  moral  code 
throughout  the  whole  church  ? 

It  is,  moreover,  evident  that  no  merely  external 
organization  under  a  hierarchical  government  with 
one  supreme  head  would  be  sufficient  to  secure 
unity  in  the  true  faith  and  doctrine,  and  the  right 
administration  of  discipline,  without  the  perpetual 
exercise  of  a  supernatural  providence  over  the  church. 
The  church  must  be  governed  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  made  indefectible  and  infallible,  otherwise  it  is 
liable  to  become  corrupt  in  doctrine  and  practice, 
and  to  lead  men  away  from  the  faith   and   law  of 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  193 

Christ.  This  would  be  the  destruction  of  the  Way 
of  Salvation  provided  by  God  for  all  mankind,  and 
the  construction  of  a  new  way  to  perdition.  God 
could  not  permit  this  to  take  place.  For,  if  he  has 
constructed  an  ark  in  which  he  has  commanded  all 
men  to  embark,  that  they  may  pass  over  the  sea  of 
the  world  to  the  shore  of  eternal  life,  he  must 
provide  for  the  safe  passage  of  the  ark,  and  cannot 
permit  it  to  be  engulfed  in  the  waves  of  the 
ocean. 

A  sincere  and  religious  person,  a  Presbyterian  for 
example,  might  here  reply  as  follows  :  "  I  admit 
the  necessity  of  a  positive  and  certain  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  of  belief  in  definitely  and  clearly  pro- 
posed doctrines  and  obedience  to  fixed  and  well- 
known  laws.  I  believe  that  God  has  really  provided 
a  Way  of  Salvation,  which  the  soul  that  is  guided  by 
divine  grace  cannot  mistake,  in  which  it  cannot  err, 
and  by  which  it  walks  securely  to  eternal  life.  I 
have  that  rule  of  faith  in  the  Word  of  God  con- 
tained in  the  Bible,  and  I  have  in  the  same  a  rule  of 
life.  This  rule  of  faith  has  come  to  me  through  the 
church  and  the  religious  teachers  under  whose  in- 
struction I  have  been  brought  up.  I  do  not  pre- 
tend that  they  are  infallible.  But  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  they  should  be.  It  is  sufficient  that  I 
have  evidence  that  they  do  not  actually  err  or 
deceive  me  in  proposing  to  me  the  Scriptures.    This 


194  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

evidence  I  have.  Moreover,  since  the  Word  of  God 
has  come  to  me  safely  through  their  hands,  I  may 
presume  that  it  is  safe  for  me  to  receive  the  sacra 
ments  also  from  the  same  hands.  Besides  this,  the 
interior  light  and  consolation  which  I  receive  from 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  I  can  no  more  distrust  than 
I  can  distrust  the  light  of  reason  and  conscience, 
give  me  an  assurance  that  I  am  safe  and  in  the  right 
way,  and  I  am  confirmed  in  this  security  by  the 
agreement  which  I  see  existing  among  many  per- 
sons who  give  evidence  of  being  truly  sanctified  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  same  doctrine  and  the  same 
practice  of  religious  observances  which  I  have  been 
taught,  and  which  I  believe  to  be  right." 

In  replying  to  this  plausible  statement,  which  I 
believe  to  be  a  correct  expression  of  the  real  mental 
attitude  in  which  most  of  those  who  call  themselves 
Evangelical  Christians  stand  toward  the  Catholic 
Church,  when  they  consider  with  any  serious  at- 
tention the  call  which  she  makes  upon  them  to  re- 
turn to  her  bosom,  I  shall  reserve  the  last  part  of 
it  for  separate  examination.  By  this  last  part,  I  in- 
tend all  that  relates  to  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  soul  of  the  individual.  The  first  part  I  shall 
refute  by  a  process  which  may  seem  to  be  remote 
and  indirect,  but  which  I  think  will  be  found  by  any 
one  who  follows  it  patiently  and  attentively  to  be 
conclusive  and  satisfactory. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  195 

In  the  first  place,  then,  I  beg  of  my  Presbyterian 
or  Evangelical  friend,  who  believes  that  he  is  in 
possession  of  what  he  is  fond  of  calling  "  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  "  in  regard  to  the  way  of  salvation, 
to  enquire  of  himself  how  he  originally  acquired  this 
conviction  or  belief.  I  refer  now  to  that  belief 
which  he  has  had  from  his  childhood,  which  pre- 
existed to  that  moment  when  he  supposes  that  his 
justification  took  place,  and  which  exists  in  those 
who  give  an  intellectual  assent  to  Evangelical  doc- 
trines. It  is  evident  that  he  first  believed  these 
doctrines  on  the  authority  of  his  parents,  and  after- 
wards on  that  also  of  his  religious  teachers.  This  is 
the  way  established  by  God  in  the  order  of  nature, 
and  also  in  the  order  of  grace.  God  has  placed 
children  under  the  tutelage  of  parents,  and  has  im- 
planted in  their  souls  a  disposition  to  believe  and 
obey  their  teaching.  Wherever  any  kind  of  organ- 
ized religious  or  scientific  instruction  exists  in  the 
community,  the  children  who  are  its  recipients 
naturally  and  unavoidably  submit  to  it  with  the 
same  docility  which  their  nature  inclines  them  to 
exercise  toward  their  parents.  My  Presbyterian 
friend  will  admit  that  God  originally  established 
this  order  as  a  secure  and  infallible  method  of  in- 
structing and  directing  the  whole  human  race  in  all 
things  relating  both  to  their  temporal  and  eternal 
welfare.     Adam  and   Eve,  in  their  primitive  state, 


196  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

were  qualified  to  instruct  their  children  in  all  divine 
and  human  wisdom.  If  sin  had  never  entered  the 
world,  all  parents  and  elders  would  have  been  the 
successors  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  the  same  office  and 
with  the  same  perfect  qualifications.  The  order  of 
Providence  respecting  instruction  which  still  exists 
in  human  nature  is,  therefore,  something  which  has 
survived  the  fall,  like  marriage,  and  is  a  divine  insti- 
tution, impaired  but  not  destroyed.  So  far  as  it 
exists  in  connection  with  the  divine  plan  of  re- 
demption, it  is  an  original  institution  of  the  primi- 
tive state  restored.  In  its  impaired  and  imperfect 
state  it  is  evident  that  this  institution  can  neither 
be  so  completely  perverted  as  to  become  the  means 
of  teaching  nothing  but  absolute  falsehood,  and  pre- 
scribing nothing  but  that  which  is  absolutely  sinful, 
nor  yet  sufficient  to  teach  the  absolute  truth  and 
prescribe  all  that  which  is  morally  good  without 
mixture  of  evil.  In  that  proportion  in  which  it 
approximates  to  the  original  institution  of  God,  it 
must  contain  a  greater  amount  of  that  truth  and 
morality,  which  would  have  been  transmitted  in  their 
integrity  if  the  original  state  of  mankind  had  con- 
tinued in  ail  its  perfection.  And  in  its  restored 
condition  it  ought  to  be  equivalent  to  what  it  was 
intended  to  remain  in  perpetuity,  according  to  the 
first  plan  of  God,  if  our  first  parents  had  not  sinned. 
Therefore,  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  educated  in 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  197 

every  other  religion  or  sect  except  in  the  true 
church,  there  must  be  a  greater  or  lesser  amount  of 
truth  taught  them  by  their  parents  and  other 
natural  instructors,  together  with  a  lesser  or  greater 
amount  of  error.  Now,  as  error  cannot  have  any 
authority  over  the  mind  and  conscience  of  a  rational 
creature,  it  must  be  both  the  right  and  the  duty  of 
every  man  to  reject  that  part  of  the  instruction 
which  he  has  received  from  his  parents  and  elders 
which  is  erroneous,  whenever  he  is  reasonably  con- 
vinced that  it  is  erroneous,  and  to  accept  the  truth 
which  is  presented  to  him  from  some  other  source. 
It  is  always  possible  for  him  to  obtain  this  convic- 
tion, under  every  supposition  but  one,  viz.,  that  he 
has  been  educated  under  an  infallible  teaching, 
which  has  given  him  the  pure  and  complete  truth, 
unmixed  with  error. 

Now,  let  us  examine  the  principal  gradations  of 
religious  teaching  under  which  various  classes  of  the 
human  race  are  educated,  and  which  our  Presbyte- 
rian friend  condemns  as  essentially  erroneous  or  im- 
perfect, until  we  come  to  his  own  doctrine  ;  that  we 
may  see  if  the  principle  on  which  he  condemns  the 
one  nearest  to  himself,  and  which  is  available  for 
the  condemnation  of  every  lower  one  successively 
until  we  reach  the  lowest,  is  not  of  equal  conclusive- 
ness against  his  own  position.  Beginning  at  the 
lowest  form  of  religion,  heathenism,  what  argument 


198  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

would  a  philosophical  and  at  the  same  time  religi- 
ously orthodox  Jew,  who  may  be  taken  to  represent 
both  Theism,  and  Revealed  Religion  in  its  most 
general  sense,  employ,  to  convince  an  intelligent, 
upright  pagan  that  he  ought  to  believe  in  One  God 
as  revealed  by  the  light  of  reason  and  the  Old  Tes- 
tament ?  The  argument  will  be  one  proving  that 
the  very  principles  and  judgments  of  reason  and 
conscience,  as  educated  under  the  influence  of  his 
ancestral  religion,  require  him  to  cast  off  every  part 
of  it  which  contradicts  the  doctrine  of  pure  Mono- 
theism. It  will,  moreover,  prove  to  him  that  the 
Old  Testament  is  an  authentic  record  of  a  more 
ancient  and  universal  history,  tradition,  law,  than 
his  own  ;  of  which  his  own  is  only  a  disfigured  copy ; 
and  that  it  contains  a  revelation  from  God  accre- 
dited by  the  most  satisfactory  and  incontestable 
evidence. 

In  what  manner  will  a  Unitarian  argue,  in  turn, 
with  the  Jew,  to  convince  him  of  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity? He  will  show  him  that  the  divine  mission 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  clearly  proved  by  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  in  various  other  ways  will  argue  that 
Judaism  has  its  proper  development  and  completion 
in  Christianity.  All  the  motives  of  credibility 
which  establish  the  truth  of  Judaism,  therefore, 
prove  equally  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

The   Unitarian,  in  turn,  must  answer  for  himself 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  199 

to  our  Presbyterian  friend.  He  will  argue  that 
Jesus  Christ,  the  great  Prophet  and  Teacher,  sent 
from  God  to  take  up  and  complete  the  mission  of 
Moses,  taught  his  own  true  and  proper  divinity  as 
a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  faith.  Moreover, 
that  he  provided  for  the  teaching  of  the  faith  to 
all  nations  by  his  apostles,  whose  writings  contain 
the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  Incarnation,  Redemp- 
tion, Original  Sin,  the  necessity  of  regeneration  and 
supernatural  grace,  and  other  doctrines,  rejected  by 
the  Unitarian.  He  will  argue,  moreover,  that  it 
was  the  mission  of  Christianity  to  convert  all  na- 
tions to  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  One  True 
God  ;  and  that  all  Christians,  except  a  handful,  wor- 
ship the  One  God  in  Three  Persons,  one  of  whom  is 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  God  made  Man,  and  crucified 
for  us ;  hoping  for  salvation  through  his  precious  blood. 
Unitarians,  therefore,  have  separated  themselves  from 
the  mass  of  believers,  have  made  for  themselves  a 
pseudo-Christianity,  have  renounced  the  genuine, 
authentic  doctrine  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  and  are 
thus  in  flagrant  contradiction  to  their  profession  of 
being  followers  and  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  Even 
though  the  Unitarian  should  profess  to  believe  the 
Bible  as  containing  the  pure  and  perfect  revelation 
of  divine  truth,  or  even  as  being  inspired  in  all  its 
parts  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Presbyterian  will  tell 
him  that  this  is  of  no  avail  to  establish  his  character 


200  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

as  a  Christian,  since  he  does  not  believe  the  true 
and  real  sense  of  the  Bible,  but  his  own  false  inter- 
pretation. As  the  principles  which  inform  the 
natural  reason  and  conscience  of  the  pagan  require 
him  to  believe  in  One  God,  the  author  of  revelation  ; 
and  as  the  principles  of  the  Theist  and  the  Jew  re- 
quire them  to  believe  in  the  revelation  made  by 
Jesus  Christ ;  so  the  principles  and  motives  of  credi- 
bility by  which  the  Unitarian  is  convinced  of  the 
divine  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  equally  prove  his 
true  and  proper  divinity,  the  Trinity,  and  the  whole 
body  of  doctrine  contained  and  implied  in  the  or- 
thodox creed  of  the  universal  church. 

Our  Presbyterian  friend  must  now  face  the  argu- 
ments of  one  who  stands  in  a  higher  grade  than 
himself — that  is,  the  advocate  of  a  church  professing 
to  be  founded  on  the  apostolic  succession  of  its 
bishops,  and  to  be  identical  in  constitution  and  doc- 
trine with  the  apostolic  church.  Passing  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopalian,  we  will  bring  forward  the 
true,  genuine  High-Churchman — that  is,  the  cham- 
pion of  the  Greek  Church.  He  will  be  able  to  prove 
to  the  Presbyterian  that  his  sect  has  done  precisely 
the  same  thing  which  he  accuses  the  sect  of  Unita- 
rians of  having  perpetrated.  Professing  to  recognize 
the  divine  authority  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  has  rejected 
a  large  part  of  the  doctrine  which  he  has  taught. 
It  has  rejected  the  polity,  order,  and  teaching  au- 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  201 

thority  established  at  his  command  by  the  apos- 
tles. It  has  given  a  new  and  false  sense  to  an 
essential  part  of  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Scripture, 
and  altogether  rejected  a  large  part  of  the  true 
canon  of  Scripture  as  apocryphal.  It  has  sepa- 
rated itself  from  the  great  body  of  Christian  be- 
lievers, denied  a  portion  of  the  orthodox  creed  of 
the  universal  church,  and  mingled  heresy  with  the 
remainder  which  it  has  retained.  You  have  received, 
the  Greek  may  say  to  the  Presbyterian,  your  Bible 
and  your  interpretation  of  it,  your  mode  of  worship 
and  your  rule  of  life  as  a  Christian,  from  the  in- 
struction of  your  parents  and  pastors,  who  have 
professed  to  teach  you  in  the  name  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  and  in  the  name  of  Christ  himself. 
But  go  back  a  little,  and  you  will  find  that  your 
ancestors  revolted  from  the  instruction  which 
they  had  received  from  the  church  in  which  they 
had  been  educated  ;  which  had  come  down  from  the 
teachers  of  their  first  Christian  ancestors  by  whom 
they  were  converted  to  Christ ;  from  the  earliest 
ages,  and  from  the  founders  of  universal  Christen- 
dom. From  that  ancient  church  you  have  received 
your  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  that  part  of  the 
canon  of  the  Old  Testament  which  you  retain,  your 
creeds,  your  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the 
Incarnation,  and  whatever  else  you  profess  which  is 
orthodox  as  opposed   to  the   Arian,  Sabellian,  Nes- 


202  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

torian,  Eutychian,  Monothelite,  Pelagian,  and 
Semipelagian  heresies.  Your  General  Assembly  in 
the  United  States  vindicated  your  orthodoxy  before 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  the  primate  of  Christendom, 
on  the  plea  that  you  accept  the  definitions  of  the 
first  six  (Ecumenical  Councils  as  a  true  testi- 
mony of  the  faith  delivered  to  the  church  by 
the  apostles.  If  their  testimony  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  orthodox  and  catholic  creed  respecting 
the  Trinity  and  the  Incarnation  is  worthy  to 
be  received  ;  you  have  the  same  reason  for  receiv- 
ing it,  concerning  that  entire  body  of  doctrine  and 
that  complete  system  of  ecclesiastical  polity  which 
all  the  bishops  and  doctors  of  the  age  of  these  first 
councils,  the  very  heretics  whom  they  condemned 
and  excommunicated  assenting,  declare  to  have 
been  received  from  the  apostles.  The  article  of 
11  The  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church  " 
is  as  much  a  part  of  the  Creed  as  the  one  which  de- 
fines that  Jesus  Christ  is  "  of  one  substance  with 
the  Father."  The  orthodox  churches  of  Alexan- 
dria, Antioch,  Jerusalem,  Ephesus,  Athens,  and  the 
other  episcopal  sees  of  the  East,  where  St.  Peter,  St. 
Paul,  St.  Athanasius,  St.  John  Chrysostom,  preached 
and  governed,  have  never  changed  their  doctrine, 
their  polity,  their  worship.  But  you  have  changed, 
founded  a  new  church,  invented  a  new  religion, 
wholly  diverse  from  that  which  existed  throughout 


The    Way  of  Salvatio?i.  203 

the  Catholic  Church  before  the  East  and  the  West 
were  divided  ;  and  from  that  of  every  sect  which  has 
retained  the  episcopal  succession,  the  priesthood, 
the  sacrifice,  the  seven  sacraments,  and  the  outward 
semblance  of  conformity  to  the  constitution  of  the 
church  which  the  apostles  established.  Therefore, 
your  claim  to  orthodoxy  and  your  profession  of  fol- 
lowing the  doctrine  and  law  of  Christ  and  the 
apostles  are  futile,  and  your  own  principles  require 
you  to  return  to  that  catholic  church  which  your 
forefathers  abandoned. 

All  that  the  Greek  can  say  to  the  Presbyterian 
can  be  with  equal  justice  retorted  upon  himself. 
He  is  a  schismatic.  What  he  calls  the  Orthodox 
or  Holy  Eastern  Church  has  not  organic  unity  even 
in  itself,  but  is  an  aggregation  of  independent 
churches  without  a  head.  It  is  not  in  communion 
with  the  great  body  of  the  bishops  whose  apostolic 
descent  it  recognizes.  It  has  revolted  against  the 
Apostolic  See,  whose  primacy  its  own  formularies 
confess,  and  whose  supreme  authority  its  patriarchs 
recognized  and  obeyed  while  it  was  in  unity  with 
all  catholic  Christendom.  It  teaches  the  faith  re- 
specting the  One,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church, 
yet  practically  denies  that  the  church  exists  on  the 
earth ;  since  it  dare  not  assume  to  possess  and  exer- 
cise the  functions  of  the  catholic  church  in  its 
separate  state,  and  will  not  acknowledge  the  right 


204  The  Way  of  Salvation, 

of  the  true  church  to  that  august  title  and  supreme 
power  which  really  belong  to  her.  The  Greek 
schismatic,  therefore,  while  he  calls  himself  a  Cath- 
olic, confesses  that  he  adheres  to  a  fragment  which 
once  made  a  portion  of  the  Catholic  Church.  His 
boasted  catholicity  is  but  a  theory  which  his  prac- 
tice contradicts.  The  admonition  which  he  address- 
es to  the  Presbyterian  falls  with  an  inevitable 
and  crushing  rebound  upon  his  own  head. 

There  is,  therefore,  in  every  form  of  religious  and 
moral  instruction  by  authority,  except  that  which  is 
given  by  a  supreme  and  infallible  Teacher,  a  flaw 
which  sooner  or  later  betrays  itself.  Reason  and 
conscience  are  awakened  and  in  part  instructed  by 
this  imperfect  teaching.  But  they  are  awakened 
and  instructed  by  a  teaching  which  does  not  satisfy 
their  demands,  but  causes  them  to  long  for  a  guide 
to  lead  them  higher,  and  an  instruction  which  is 
more  complete  and  self-consistent.  One  who  looks 
for  truth  by  means  of  natural  reason  alone  desires 
to  find  a  perfect  and  complete  philosophy.  One 
who  looks  for  the  highest  truth  in  a  revelation  from 
God  desires  to  know  that  revelation  certainly  and 
completely,  at  least  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  for  his 
spiritual  good.  Moreover,  reason  and  conscience 
cannot  rightly  and  honorably  subject  themselves  to 
any  human  instruction,  except  because  and  in  so 
far  as  this  instruction  is  reasonably  considered  as  a 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  205 

mere  instrument  of  God,  whose  mind  alone  is  the 
measure  of  truth  and  his  will  of  good.  Why  does 
the  child  reverence,  believe,  and  obey  his  parents? 
He  dimly  apprehends  in  them  a  certain  majesty, 
authority,  and  protecting  love  which  he  after- 
wards discovers  to  have  their  being  in  God.  They 
represent  God  to  him  before  he  knows  that  God 
exists  and  made  him.  When  his  reason  and  con- 
science are  developed,  he  knows  that  his  duty  to 
them  is  derived  from,  and  measured  by,  his  duty  to 
God.  The  obligation  of  retaining  in  his  adult  age 
the  faith  they  have  taught  him  rests  on  the  con- 
viction that  it  is  God's  truth.  It  is  the  same  with 
all  teaching  by  human  authority.  The  learner  re- 
ceives what  is  taught  him,  because  he  cannot  know 
the  truth  immediately  by  his  own  faculties.  He 
trusts  in  the  testimony  or  judgment  of  others,  in 
respect  to  those  things  which  he  does  not  know  by 
his  own  experience  or  reason,  because  he  believes 
that  their  testimony  and  judgment  are  certainly  or 
probably  exempt,  either  altogether  or  to  a  certain 
extent,  from  liability  to  error  ;  that  they  cannot  in 
these  matters  be  deceived  or  deceivers.  That  is  to 
say,  he  trusts  to  them  to  transmit  to  him  that  which 
God  makes  known  through  the  natural  light  of 
reason.  Those  whose  testimony  is  entirely  credible 
ought  to  agree  together  respecting  the  same  things, 
and  those  whose  judgments  arc  unerring  ought  like- 


206  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

wise  to  agree  ;  for  truth  is  one,  and  contradiction 
shows  that  there  is  error  somewhere.  If  parents,  and 
other  instructors  who  are  in  the  place  of  parents, 
could,  as  such,  and  by  the  virtue  of  their  office  in 
the  order  of  nature,  give  their  children  and  pupils  a 
perfectly  true  and  sufficient  instruction,  which  they 
might  and  ought  to  follow  all  their  lives  without 
fear  of  error,  in  respect  to  religious  truth  and  moral 
duty,  then  all  parents  and  instructors  should  agree 
in  their  teaching  and  precepts ;  their  teaching  should 
be  one  and  catholic.  This  would  have  been  the 
case  if  the  human  race  had  remained  in  the  state  of 
original  justice  and  integrity.  It  is  the  case  now  in 
the  Catholic  Church,  because  parents  and  particular 
instructors  of  children  and  simple  people  have  be- 
hind them  a  catholic  and  infallible  authority.  The 
church  teaches  through  the  parents,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  through  the  church,  and  thus  all  the  children 
of  the  church  are  "  docibiles  Dei  " — the  docile  pupils 
of  God.  Adam  was  to  his  children  a  supreme  and 
unerring  authority  in  religion.  In  like  manner 
Noah  was  to  his  children,  and  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  to  theirs.  Moses  was  the  same  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  in  a 
higher  sense,  as  having  authority  in  his  own  Person, 
and  being  himself  Truth  and  Life — "  the  Light  that 
enlighteneth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the 
world." 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  207 

Every  intelligent  and  reflecting  person  who  pro- 
fesses to  be  an  orthodox  believer  in  Christianity 
must  see  and  admit,  I  am  very  sure,  that  reason 
and  conscience  cannot  fully  and  unconditionally 
recognize  the  authority  of  any  teacher  in  religion 
who  is  not  supreme  and  infallible,  and  must  recog- 
nize that  of  one  who  is.  Reason  and  conscience 
represent  God  in  the  bosom  of  each  individual.  An 
authority  which  is  not  supreme  and  infallible,  if  it 
is  legitimate,  represents  God  also,  but  only  in  the 
same  limited  sense  that  the  individual  reason  and 
conscience  represent  him — that  is,  in  so  far  as  it  gives 
satisfactory  warrant  that  its  judgments  and  precepts 
are  in  fact  exempt  from  error,  and  are  in  conformity 
to  truth  and  right.  As  there  may  be  an  erroneous 
conscience  and  false  reasonings  in  the  mind  of  an  in- 
dividual which  need  correction  ;  so  in  the  command- 
ments of  an  authority  not  supreme,  and  the  judg- 
ments of  one  not  infallible,  there  may  be  something 
prescribed  as  a  moral  duty  or  proposed  as  a  reli- 
gious truth  which  is  sinful  or  false  ;  and  therefore 
contrary  to  the  precepts  and  instructions  of  that 
supreme  authority  whose  commandments  and  judg- 
ments are  capable  of  being  known  immediately  and 
directly  by  the  individual  conscience  and  reason  ; 
and,  if  known,  must  be  obeyed,  despite  all  human 
authority.  There  is,  therefore,  no  merely  temporal 
authority  which  is  absolutely  sovereign,  whether  in 


208  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

the  family  or  the  state.  And  there  is  no  human 
spiritual  authority  which  is  absolutely  sovereign 
over  the  reason  and  conscience,  except  that  which 
is  infallible.  It  is  always  supposable  that  an  au- 
thority which  does  not  infallibly  represent  God  may 
require  an  individual  to  do  that  which  he  knows  by 
his  own  reason  and  conscience  to  be  contrary  to  the 
law  of  God,  or  to  profess  belief  in  something  which 
he  knows  to  be  contrary  to  the  truth  of  God  ;  and  in 
either  case  he  has  the  right  and  duty  of  resisting 
even  to  death.  But  once  admit  that  the  authority 
does  infallibly  represent  God,  and  that  reasonable 
evidence  of  this  is  proposed  to  the  reason  and  con- 
science, and  no  possible  reason  to  justify  disobedi- 
ence can  be  found  ;  because  one  must  disobey  his 
own  reason  and  conscience  in  disobeying  such  an 
authority.  This  is  easily  seen  by  considering  the 
absolute  faith  and  obedience  due  to  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  own  person.  If  we  suppose  a  man, 
whose  wisdom  and  virtue  were  the  most  perfect 
that  a  mere  man  could  possibly  acquire  by  all  natu- 
ral means  and  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  have  seen  Our 
Lord  while  he  was  living  on  this  earth  ;  we  must  ad- 
mit that  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  submit  his 
reason  and  conscience  unreservedly  to  His  au- 
thority as  soon  as  he  knew  who  He  really  was. 
Nevertheless,  it  would  be  only  the  humanity  of 
Christ  which  was  visible  to  him.      He  would  see  his 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  209 

human  form,  hear  his  human  voice,  receive  the 
instruction  of  his  human  intellect  and  the  com- 
mands of  his  human  will.  He  would  not  perceive 
directly  his  divine  nature,  but  believe  that  he  was 
truly  God,  on  his  own  testimony,  by  faith.  He 
would  be  obliged  to  recognize  that  as  Man  his  au- 
thority was  supreme  and  infallible.  He  would  be 
obliged  to  believe  every  word  that  he  uttered, 
whatever  his  previous  convictions  might  have  been, 
and  to  do  whatever  he  commanded  him.  To  have 
made  an  objection  that  his  own  reason  and  con- 
science did  not  sanction  the  doctrine  or  direction 
given  him  by  Jesus  Christ  would  have  been  the 
most  intolerable  folly,  as  well  as  the  most  audacious 
insolence.  Now,  suppose  that  Our  Lord  delegated 
this  supreme  and  infallible  authority  to  one  who 
should  be  his  representative  and  vicar  on  the  earth 
after  his  own  departure,  in  what  respect  would  the 
obligation  of  this  man  toward  the  Vicar  of  Christ 
differ  from  his  obligation  toward  Christ  himself? 
Evidently,  within  the  sphere  of  the  delegated  au- 
thority, in  no  wise.  My  Presbyterian  friend  will 
admit  that  the  doctrine  and  law  which  Jesus  Christ 
commands  him  to  receive  are  the  doctrine  and  law 
of  Jesus  Christ  himself,  through  whatever  medium 
they  are  transmitted  to  him  with  unerring  certainty. 
He  will  admit  that  they  must  be  transmitted  to 
him  in  some  way  which  supplies  for  the  lack  of  that 


210  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

visible  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  which  his  immedi- 
ate disciples  enjoyed.  He  will  admit  the  necessity 
of  an  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  at  least  in 
regard  to  things  necessary  to  salvation. 

But  he  may  still  insist  that  Jesus  Christ  in  his 
own  person  is  his  Infallible  Teacher  directly  through 
his  word  contained  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  which 
he  understands  by  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
communicated  to  his  own  individual  spirit.  And 
he  may  adduce  in  his  own  favor  the  parting  pro- 
mise of  Christ :  "I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he 
shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may 
abide  with  you  for  ever ;  even  the  Spirit  of  truth  ; 
whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth 
him  not,  neither  knoweth  him  :  but  ye  know  him  ; 
for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you."  * 

I  shall  not  deny  that  the  Holy  Spirit  enlightens 
individual  believers  to  understand  and  delight  in 
the  treasures  of  the  Holy  Scripture.  This  is  not, 
however,  the  question  at  issue.  The  real  question 
is,  whether  Jesus  Christ  has  left  the  Scripture,  with 
the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  sufficient  and 
only  rule  of  faith  to  each  and  every  individual  be- 
liever ;  and  to  the  church  as  a  mere  collection  of  in- 
dividuals united  together  in  a  common  belief,  which 
is  constituted  by  the  similitude  of  their  private 
judgments  upon  the  sense  of  Holy  Scripture. 
*  St.  John  xiv.  16,  17. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  211 

If  this  were  really  the  method  appointed  by  Jesus 
Christ  for  teaching,  propagating,  and  perpetuating 
his  doctrine  and  law,  it  is  evident  that  it  would  pro- 
duce unity  in  faith  among  the  whole  multitude 
of  true  believers.  The  Holy  Spirit  cannot  teach 
diverse  doctrines.  But  diverse  doctrines,  producing 
separate  sects,  have  always  been  found  among  the 
multitude  of  those  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  to  receive  the  New  Testament  as  an 
infallible  rule  of  faith.  What  is  the  criterion  for  de- 
termining who  are  the  true  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ, 
truly  illuminated  by  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  What  is  the 
certain  test  by  which  each  individual  can  discern 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  himself  from  illusions 
of  his  own  spirit  or  the  spirit  of  darkness?  If  it  is 
said  that  holiness  of  life  is  the  test,  Protestants  will 
find  it  very  difficult  to  apply  this  test  in  such  a  way 
as  to  establish  which  among  their  various  sects  is  en- 
titled to  claim  the  possession  of  the  true  doctrine. 
They  will  find  it  still  more  difficult  to  establish  the 
claim  of  any  form  of  Protestantism  in  particular,  or 
of  any  sort  of  vague,  general  system  which  they 
may  please  to  call  "  evangelical,"  against  the  ancient 
or  modern  Catholic  Church.  They  can  bring  for- 
ward nothing  but  their  own  private  opinion  or 
sentiment,  a  mere  assertion  that  such  and  such 
doctrines  are  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  all  true 
believers,  and    that  those  who  hold  them  are  the 


212  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

persons  whom  he  really  enlightens.  But  this  is  of 
no  avail  as  a  certain  test  and  criterion.  It  is  a 
purely  subjective  persuasion,  in  which  the  subject 
of  it  may  be  easily  deluded,  and  which  cannot  be 
the  object  of  a  reasonable  credibility  to  any  other 
person,  unless  it  is  capable  of  proof  by  sound  and 
satisfactory  reasons.  Therefore  Protestants  have 
been  forced  to  throw  themselves  back  upon  reason  ; 
and  to  rely  upon  philosophical,  theological,  critical, 
and  historical  proofs,  in  order  to  establish  and  de- 
fend their  system  of  doctrine,  and  each  doctrine  of 
these  systems  in  particular ;  and  to  prove  that  their 
interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  correct.  In 
the  first  place,  they  establish  a  basis  of  Natural  Theo- 
logy by  rational  arguments.  They  prove  the  ex- 
istence, unity,  and  infinite  perfection  of  God  ;  cre- 
ation, providence,  final  causes,  the  spiritual  and 
immortal  essence  of  the  human  soul,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  religion.  Upon  this  basis  they  establish 
revealed  theology.  They  adduce  the  motives  of 
credibility  proving  the  Mosaic  and  Christian  revela- 
tion. They  proceed  to  establish  the  canon  of 
Scripture,  its  authority  and  inspiration,  and  after- 
wards to  investigate  its  true  sense  and  meaning, 
and  to  adduce  proofs  of  one  doctrine  after  another, 
answering,  as  well,  objections  from  reason  or  from 
different  interpretations  of  revelation.  Whatever 
private  revelations  or  immediate  lights  of  the  Holy 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  213 

Spirit  any  individual  or  any  number  of  persons 
may  profess  to  have  received — for  example,  Mon- 
tanus,  Tertullian,  Jacob  Bohme,  Swedenborg,  the 
Mystics  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Chevalier 
Bunsen,  or  Edward  Irving — they  test  and  judge  these 
by  principles  of  reason  and  by  the  sense  of  the 
Holy  Scripture  as  received  by  their  own  particular 
sect  or  theological  school.  They  appeal  also  to  the 
consent  of  the  multitude  of  those  whom  they  con- 
sider to  be  the  true  believers,  in  holding  certain 
doctrines,  and  to  their  inward  conviction  that  the 
faith  by  which  they  believe  is  produced  by  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  but  they  do  not  appeal  to  this  as 
separate  from,  and  independent  of,  an  extrinsic  rule 
of  faith.  Even  in  the  case  of  prophets  and  inspired 
men,  like  Moses,  Isaias,  and  St.  Paul,  they  recog- 
nize the  necessity  of  an  exterior  test,  an  objective 
evidence,  a  sanction  of  some  kind,  by  which  obedi- 
ence to  the  proclamations  they  make  as  messen- 
gers of  God  is  made  reasonable  and  obligatory. 
They  do  not  except  Jesus  Christ  himself;  for  they 
establish  the  reasonableness  and  the  obligation  of 
believing  his  affirmation  that  he  is  the  co-equal  Son 
of  God  the  Father,  upon  evidence,  and  principally 
upon  prophecy   and   miracles. 

I  have  no  wish  to  deny  the  subjective  certainty 
of  belief  produced  directly  and  immediately  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  souls  of  individuals.     Undoubt- 


214  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

edly,  God  can  make,  and  frequently  has  made,  reve- 
lations to  individual  persons,  accompanied  by  such 
a  light  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  reject 
them  as  false  or  doubtful  without  a  deliberate  vio- 
lence to  reason  and  conscience  alike.  There  have 
been  many  other  revelations  made  to  individuals 
which,  with  greater  or  less  approach  to  certainty, 
may  be  considered,  by  themselves  especially,  and  by 
others  also  who  know  the  reasons  of  believing  them 
to  be  divine,  as  having  a  claim  to  credence.  More- 
over, the  Holy  Spirit  sends  his  illuminations  and 
inspirations  to  all  men,  especially  to  those  who 
have  divine  faith  ;  and  the  faith  of  a  true  believer 
is  always  a  gift  of  God,  and  par  excellence  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy  Spirit  is,  however, 
always  consistent  with  himself.  He  is  the  Eternal 
and  Unchangeable  Truth.  All  his  teachings  are 
consistent  with  each  other.  He  is  the  author  of  the 
light  of  reason,  and  of  all  revelations,  universal 
and  particular.  He  cannot  reveal  anything  contrary 
to  reason,  or  reveal  to  any  individual  anything  con- 
trary to  the  revelation  he  has  made  to  all  mankind. 
Where  contrary  doctrines  come  into  collision,  each 
claiming  to  proceed  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  there 
must  be  some  test  or  criterion  of  discernment  be- 
tween them  ;  otherwise  certainty  is  overthrown.  In 
the  order  of  nature  reason  has  the  precedence.  The 
light  of  reason  is  common  and  universal,  and  is  the 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  215 

prerequisite  condition  without  which  the  superna- 
tural light  cannot  affect  the  human  intellect.     It  is 
impossible  to  believe  in  God  without  acknowledg- 
ing that  he  created  this  light.     It  is  by  reason  that 
the  credibility  of  revelation  is  established.     It  fur- 
nishes,  moreover,   a  negative  test   of  the   intrinsic 
credibility  of  that  which  claims  to  be  revealed  truth. 
That  is,  nothing  can  be  received  as  really  revealed 
by  God   and  to  be  believed  on  his  veracity  which  is 
evidently  contrary  to  reason.      And  when  a  public, 
universal,  fully-accredited  revelation  has  been  made, 
it  furnishes  a  test  and  criterion  for  trying  and  judg- 
ing all  private  revelations.     Nothing  which  is  con- 
trary to  any  one  of  its   doctrines  can  be  listened  to 
for  a  moment,  as  having  any  claim  to  credence,  or 
even  to  examination.     Moreover,  a  private  revela- 
tion is  worthless,  unless  there  is  some  ground,  based 
on  sound  reason  and  on  revelation,  for  giving  heed  to 
it.      When  a  sole,  sufficient,  and  unerring  rule   of 
faith   for  Christians  has  been  once  established  by 
conclusive  proofs,  nothing  else  can  be  admitted  as 
participating  in  its  authority  or  independent  of  it. 
A   Presbyterian,  or  other  Protestant,   who   regards 
the  Bible  as  the  only,  sufficient,   and  unerring  rule 
of  faith,  must  therefore    admit  that  everything    it 
teaches    requires  his   immediate  and   unconditional 
assent  as  soon  as  it  is  discovered  to  him  ;  and  that 
all  private   opinions,  even  if  he  thinks  that  he  has 


2 1 6  The  Way  of  Salvation, 

formed  them  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
or  has  received  them  from  persons  supposed  to  be 
specially  enlightened,  must  give  way.  He  cannot 
plead  that  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit  within  him 
is  of  equal  authority  with  the  revelation  contained 
in  the  Scripture,  or  of  any  authority  at  all  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  Scripture  itself  which  is  apprehended 
by  this  light.  The  rule  is  something  external,  ob- 
jective, determined,  and  universal.  There  is  a  fixed 
and  objective  sense  to  every  paragraph  of  the  Holy 
Scripture,  which  the  writer  intended  to  express  and 
convey  to  the  reader,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  intended 
he  should  convey.  This  sense,  if  ascertainable  with 
certainty  or  probability,  must  be  ascertained  by  the 
application  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  language  and 
the  other  rules  of  interpretation,  or  at  least,  and 
even  if  it  is  discovered  by  supernatural  light,  it 
must  not  be  in  contradiction  to  them,  or  overthrow 
the  sense  which  they  establish  with  certainty. 

This  was  not,  indeed,  Luther's  doctrine.  Dr. 
Dorner,  who  is  perhaps  the  ablest  of  modern 
Lutheran  theologians,  and  thoroughly  conversant 
with  Luther's  writings,  has  proved  that  the  author  of 
Protestantism  did  not  recognize  any  supreme  au- 
thority in  the  Holy  Scripture.  He  held  that  the 
light  of  faith  is  essentially  the  same  with  the  light 
of  inspiration.  The  only  difference  between  one 
person    enlightened    by  the    Holy   Spirit    and    any 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  217 

other  person  likewise  enlightened,  is  in  the  degree 
of  illumination.  Whoever  perceives  a  greater  de- 
gree of  light  in  another  than  in  himself  can  receive 
enlightenment  from  him  ;  but  if  he  has  a  greater  light 
in  himself,  his  own  light  dominates  over  the  lesser 
light.  He  had  no  scruple,  therefore,  in  preferring 
certain  portions  of  the  Scripture  to  others,  correct- 
ing some  of  the  utterances  of  the  sacred  writers  by 
his  own  fancied  inspiration,  judging  the  Scripture 
itself  by  his  own  subjective  convictions,  and  even 
rejecting  or  treating  as  of  dubious  value  some  entire 
books,  as  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  on  his  own  private 
authority.  Luther  was  very  fond  of  the  writings  of 
the  German  mystics,  especially  of  one  book  by  an 
unknown  author,  called  "  Theologia  Germanica," 
which  has  been  translated  by  Miss  Winkworth,  and 
published  with  divers  prefatory  appendages  by 
Martin  Luther,  Charles  Kingsley,  Chevalier  Bunsen, 
and  Professor  Stowe,  that  afford  a  signal  evidence 
of  the  confusion  and  contradictions  into  which 
Protestants  are  led  by  following  their  own  private 
spirit.  Some  of  the  writings  of  this  mystic  school 
are  heretical,  and  others,  especially  those  of 
Ruysbroeck  and  Tauler,  are  strictly  orthodox. 
The  utmost  that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the 
"  Theologia  Germanica  "  is  that  it  is  possible 
to  give  an  orthodox  sense  to  its  ambiguous  lan- 
guage.     Mystic    theology     is    the*    most     sublime 


218  The   Way  of  Salvation, 

degree  of  knowledge  attainable  by  man.  It  is  very 
dangerous,  however,  unless  when  controlled  by  a 
fixed  standard  of  orthodox  doctrine  and  obedience 
to  authority.  The  special  characteristic  of  this 
mystic  theology,  not  in  Germany  alone,  or  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  but  everywhere  and  in  all  ages,  is 
that  it  deals  with  private  illuminations  and  inspira- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  looks  at  divine  truth 
in  an  attitude  of  contemplation  and  spiritual  intui- 
tion quite  different  from  the  rational  investigation 
and  penetration  of  scholastic  theology.  Therefore, 
if  the  masters  and  teachers  of  a  spiritual  doctrine 
like  this  are  not  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  sound 
philosophical  and  theological  learning,  they  may 
easily  go  astray  ;  even  without  a  wilful  intention  of 
departing  from  orthodox  doctrine ;  or  at  least  ex- 
press themselves  in  such  an  inaccurate  and  ambigu- 
ous manner  as  to  make  their  writings  dangerous;  as 
was  the  case  with  Eckhart  and  the  author  of  "  Theo- 
logia  Germanica."  Moreover,  restless,  self-willed 
persons,  especially  if  they  have  a  vivid  imagination, 
are  liable  to  run  into  the  greatest  illusions  and  ex- 
travagances if  they  happen  to  take  a  fancy  to  dabble 
in  mysticism.  Now,  Martin  Luther  was  undoubt- 
edly a  genius.  His  nature  was  a  rich  and  power- 
ful one.  But  he  was  not  a  philosopher  or  a  theolo- 
gian. Neither  was  his  moral  nature  well  disciplined 
and  controlled.      In  the  revolution  of  the  sixteenth 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  219 

century  he  was  like  what  Victor  Hugo  is  now 
in  the  revolution  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  mystic  theology  had  an  attraction  for  his 
vivid  imagination,  because  it  presented  before 
him  a  vision  of  a  certain  elevation  of  his  own  in- 
dividual mind  and  will  which  would  emancipate 
him  from  all  authority,  and  give  him  a  spiritual 
dominion  over  others.  His  own  ideas  and  purposes, 
exalted  into  illuminations  and  inspirations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  became,  therefore,  in  his  eyes,  of  divine 
authority  ;  he  was  a  godlike  man,  and  commissioned 
to  renew  and  restore  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
the  earth.  As  for  his  theology  and  system  of  doc- 
trine, it  was  ,no  deliberate  and  consistent  scheme, 
worked  out  by  thought  and  study,  but  the  result  of 
accident  and  circumstances.  He  had  but  two  fixed 
and  essential  principles :  one  was  the  mystic  unifica- 
tion of  the  individual  believer  with  Christ  by  faith 
alone ;  the  other,  which  was  a  consequence  of  the 
first,  the  complete  independence  of  the  justified 
man  of  all  external  authority  over  his  mind  and 
conscience.  These  are  commonly  called  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone,  and  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment. Both  are  perversions  of  mysteries  of  the 
faith  which  are  specially  brought  out  in  the  Catholic 
mystical  theology,  viz.,  the  union  of  the  sanctified 
human  soul  with  Christ,  and  its  interior  guidance  by 
the  light  of  the   Holy  Spirit.      And   they  have  sent 


220  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

men  wandering  away  from  the  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture, Tradition,  and  the  Catholic  Church  in  two  dif- 
ferent directions.  One  is  the  road  of  Christian  or 
philosophical  mysticism.  The  other  is  the  road  of 
Christian  or  anti-Christian  and  anti-Theistic  ration- 
alism. Those  who  retain  the  idea  of  union  with 
Christ  as  God  in  human  nature  slide  into  Christian 
mysticism  and  pietism.  Those  who  give  up  this 
idea  follow  private  judgment  by  reasoning  on 
natural  principles,  and  become  rationalists,  neo- 
logists,  pantheists,  materialists,  each  one  according 
to  his  own  particular  vagary.  Germany,  where 
Luther  lived,  is  the  homestead  and  family  mansion 
of  all  these  errors,  and  from  thence  they  migrate  to 
other  lands,  destroying  everywhere  the  remnants  of 
Christianity  among  the  children  of  those  who  left 
the  church  of  their  fathers  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  reverence  for  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, which  was  formerly  so  very  great  in  the  sects 
founded  by  the  authors  of  Protestantism,  is  at  the 
present  time  greatly  shaken  and  diminished.  It 
still  remains,  however,  as  the  strongest  breakwater 
against  the  rising  and  rushing  stream  of  infidelity, 
especially  in  England,  Scotland,  and  the  United 
States.  Among  those  whose  traditional  doctrine  is 
Calvinistic  the  influence  of  his  dogmatic  and  sys- 
tematic spirit  has  been  powerfully  efficacious  in 
preserving  the  habit  of  reverence   for  what  is  con- 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  221 

sidered  as  orthodox  belief;  and  of  tenacious  adhe- 
rence to  fixed  forms  of  teaching,  confessions,  creeds, 
catechisms,  standard  expositions  of  doctrine,  and 
other  ecclesiastical  symbols,  in  which  a  common  and 
fixed  doctrine  is  expressed,  embodied,  and  distinctly 
presented  before  each  individual  as  the  true  doctrine 
contained  in  Scripture,  and  obligatory  on  his  con- 
science ;  because  so  clearly  revealed  by  God  that  he 
cannot  reasonably  and  conscientiously  deny  or 
doubt  that  it  is  revealed.  The  public  teachers 
and  preachers  of  religion  are  therefore  required  to 
conform  to  this  fixed  form  of  doctrine,  and  their 
teaching  is  judged  by  it.  Private  persons  are  also 
required  to  conform  to  it,  as  a  condition  of  enjoying 
the  privileges  of  membership  in  the  church.  No 
one  is  allowed  to  plead  his  own  individual  illumina- 
tion by  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  his  own  private  interpre- 
tation of  the  Scripture.  On  the  contrary,  he  will  be 
told  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  already  made  the 
truth  known,  and  that,  if  he  is  really  enlightened 
and  inspired  by  divine  grace,  he  will  recognize  that 
truth. 

As  I  am  arguing  directly  only  with  those  who 
profess  to  be  orthodox  Christians  in  the  sense  just 
explained,  I  am  therefore  justified  in  ruling  out  of 
count  any  appeal  to  private,  subjective  persuasions 
of  individuals,  and  taking  up  singly  and  solely, 
without    reference   to  anything  else,    the    infallible 


222  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  as  conveyed  to  the  mind 
of  each  one  who  is  capable  of  receiving  it,  through 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  argument  which  I  suppose  my  Presbyterian 
friend  to  make  is  that  he  has  an  infallible  Teacher, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself,  who  teaches  him  by 
his  written  word,  continued  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  and  that  he  has  therefore  no  need  of 
any  infallible  teaching  authority  in  the  church.  I 
reply  to  this  that  his  conclusion  is  an  inference  of 
his  own,  a  mere  deduction  which  has  no  value  ex- 
cept its  logical  and  rational  value,  and  which  is 
therefore  to  be  examined  and  judged  by  a  merely 
logical  process.  So  far  as  the  doctrine  of  the  rule 
of  faith  is  a  revealed  doctrine,  to  be  believed  on  the 
veracity  of  God,  it  must  be  determined,  according 
to  my  friend's  own  principles,  by  the  Scripture. 
In  like  manner,  everything  relating  to  the  church, 
the  sacraments,  and  all  doctrines,  must  be  deter- 
mined by  the  same  rule.  All  the  doctrines  of  his 
own  sect,  and  all  his  own  private  opinions,  must  be 
brought  to  the  same  criterion.  Whatever,  there- 
fore, I  have  proved  or  can  prove  from  the  Scripture 
he  is  bound  to  receive  with  an  immediate  and  abso- 
lute assent.  It  avails  him  nothing  to  plead  that  he 
receives  an  infallible  teaching  from  Jesus  Christ  di- 
rectly through  the  written  word,  unless  he  can  prove 
that  this  infallible  teaching  certainly  contains  in  it 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  223 

the  whole  of  his  proposition,  viz.,  that  the  written 
word  is  the  sole  and  sufficient  rule  of  faith,  to  the 
exclusion  of  tradition  and  the  authority  of  the 
church.  And  if  it  can  be  proved  that  the  Scripture 
actually  teaches  the  authority  of  tradition  and  the 
church  according  to  the  Catholic  doctrine,  he  is 
forced  to  admit  this  by  the  determination  of  his  own 
rule  of  faith.  This  is  not  a  mere  argument  ad  ho- 
minem,  as  it  is  called — that  is,  one  which  merely 
proves  to  a  man  that  a  certain  conclusion  follows 
from  his  own  premises,  without  necessarily  proving 
that  it  is  really  true,  because  it  follows  logically 
from  premises  which  are  true.  If  it  were  only  an 
argument  of  this  kind,  it  would  merely  amount  to  a 
proof  that  one  who  believes  the  Bible  to  be  the  in- 
spired word  of  God  must  believe  that  the  church 
has  supreme,  unerring  authority  in  faith,  because 
the  Bible  teaches  this  doctrine.  It  would  not,  how- 
ever, by  itself,  establish  the  actual  truth  of  the 
proposition  that  the  Catholic  Church  possesses  this 
authority.  In  order  that  this  truth  should  be  es- 
tablished as  a  revealed  truth  by  an  argument  from 
Scripture,  it  must  be  proved  or  admitted  as  certain 
that  the  person  to  whom  this  argument  is  addressed 
has  a  sure  basis  for  his  belief  that  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture is  really  the  inspired  word  of  God,  or  contains 
the  revelation  given  originally  to  inspired  men  and 
made  known  by  the  Son  of  God  in   person.     Pro- 


224  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

testants  are  apt  to  suppose  that  a  Catholic  cannot 
logically  prove  the  church  by  the  Bible,  be- 
cause, as  they  say,  he  must  first  prove  the  church 
before  he  can  appeal  to  the  Bible  as  the  word 
of  God,  since  it  is  on  the  authority  of  the  church 
that  he  believes  it  is  the  word  of  God.  A 
Catholic  is  generally  suspected  by  an  evangelical 
Protestant  to  whom  he  proposes  Scriptural  argu- 
ments of  not  arguing  with  him  in  perfect  sincerity, 
but  using  special  pleading;  as  he  is  suspected  by  a 
rationalist  when  he  adduces  arguments  from  pure 
reason.  But  this  is  wholly  a  misunderstanding  in 
the  case  of  those  who,  candidly  and  in  good  faith 
cherish  this  suspicion.  These  persons  of  candor 
and  good  faith  are  the  only  readers  with  whom  I 
think  it  worth  the  pains  of  arguing,  and  such  read- 
ers I  am  anxious  to  convince  that  all  my  reasoning 
with  them  from  the  Holy  Scripture  and  the  ortho- 
dox doctrines  which  they  hold,  is  thoroughly  in  ear- 
nest, and  is  presented  as  really  based  on  a  solid  and 
certain  foundation. 

This  solid  foundation  is  a  well-grounded  and 
reasonable  conviction,  in  the  mind  and  conscience  of 
the  persons  supposed,  that  the  Bible  contains  an  au- 
thentic declaration  of  revealed  truths,  and  that  cer- 
tain doctrines  specified  in  the  beginning  of  this  trea- 
tise are  among  the  number  of  these  truths.  This 
conviction  may  exist,  without  an  explicit  knowledge 


The    Way  of  Salvatioit.  225 

of  the  infallibility  of  the  church,  without  a  distinct 
recognition  of  that  authority  which  really  consti- 
tutes the  true  Teaching  Church,  and,  therefore,  with- 
out any  conscious  and  formal  act  of  the  mind  per- 
ceiving that  it  receives  the  faith  and  the  Holy 
Scripture  from  the  Catholic  Church  as  the  medium 
and  instrument  of  their  transmission.  The  motives 
of  credibility  prove  sufficiently  to  convince  any  ra- 
tional and  upright  mind  the  divine  legation  of 
Moses  and  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  genuineness 
and  authenticity  of  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  also  established  with  certainty.  This 
human  and  historical  faith  in  Christianity  rests  on  a 
better  and  stronger  basis  than  any  other  common 
belief  which  has  ever  gained  a  general  assent  by  the 
effect  of  moral  evidence.  Moreover,  the  doctrines 
which  the  founders  of  the  Christian  Church  taught 
to  their  disciples,  and  which  belong  to  the  essence  of 
the  pure  and  original  Christianity,  can,  to  a  very 
considerable  and  important  extent,  be  learned  di- 
rectly from  the  writings  they  have  left  after  them, 
or  proved  with  clearness  and  certainty  from  these 
writings.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  precisely 
how  much  of  the  Catholic  faith  and  doctrine  an 
intelligent  and  upright  heathen  could  perceive  by 
his  natural  reason  alone  to  be  certainly  contained  in, 
and  taught  by,  the  Bible,  if  he  should  study  it  dili- 
gently.    It   is  enough  for  me,  in   arguing  with   an 


226  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

evangelical  Protestant,  and  especially  with  a  Presby- 
terian, to  state  distinctly,  as  the  common  ground  of 
discussion  between  us,  that  the  doctrines  assumed  as 
granted  by  him  in  the  beginning  of  this  treatise,  are 
really  taught  in,  and  provable  by,  the  Holy  Scripture, 
which  is  itself  proved  by  external  and  internal 
evidence  to  be  a  collection  of  authentic  documents 
of  divine  revelation.  This  is  all  that  is  strictly 
necessary.  For  it  is  enough  to  show  that  the  Jewish 
religion  is  correctly  represented  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  Christian  religion  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Whatever,  therefore,  is  proved  by  the  Old 
or  New  Testament  to  make  a  part  of  the  religion 
revealed  by  God,  through  Moses,  the  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  apostles,  must  be  believed  as 
a  revealed  truth,  by  force  of  the  motives  of  credi- 
bility which  prove  the  divine  legation  of  Moses 
and  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is,  therefore,  true  that  my 
Presbyterian  friend  has  a  human  and  rational  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  as  an  Infallible  Teacher.  It  is  also 
true  that  he  has  a  certainty  of  the  unerring  trans- 
mission of  the  doctrines  of  this  Infallible  Teacher 
through  the  apostles,  and  that  in  some  things  he 
can  be  certain  that  the  apostles  have  transmitted 
particular  truths,   by  the  text  of  their  writings. 

This  is  enough  for  what  is  called  the  "  preamble 
of  faith."  That  is,  it  will  enable  an  intelligent  and 
upright  person  to  convince   himself  very  easily  that 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  227 

the  apostles  in  the  name  of  Christ  established  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  left  in  it  their  own  supreme 
authority  to  the  end  of  time ;  and  he  will  then  re- 
ceive with  docile  humility  the  entke  faith  from  the 
church,  as  the  proximate  rule  of  faith.  Among 
other  articles  of  faith  he  will  receive  this  one  :  that 
the  Holy  Scripture,  composed  of  a  specified  num- 
ber of  books,  is  the  word  of  God,  written  by  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  a  quite  dif- 
ferent proposition  from  the  one  which  precedes. 
By  the  preceding  proposition,  it  is  historically  and 
rationally  certain  that  the  writings  of  the  apostles 
are  authentic  documents  of  the  religion  they  were 
commissioned  to  establish,  and  that  they  contain, 
among  other  things,  evidence  of  their  having  estab- 
lished a  certain  ecclesiastical  authority  to  last  until 
the  end  of  time.  By  the  second  proposition,  it  is  a 
revealed  truth  that  such  and  such  books  constitute 
a  sacred  canon  of  Scripture,  which  was  written  by 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  the  word 
of  God.  I  will  here  cite  the  definition  of  inspira- 
tion given  by  Dr.  Murray,  professor  of  dogmatic 
theology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Maynooth,  in  his 
admirable  Treatise  on  the  Church.  "  I  adopt  the 
definition  of  inspiration  given  by  Marchini,  and  ap- 
proved and  sanctioned  by  Perrone,  as  in  respect  to 
its  substance  altogether  certain,  viz.,  '  That  special 
impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit   moving  the  person  to 


228  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

write,  with  a  direction  and  presence  governing  his 
mind  and  spirit  while  writing,  which  does  not  per- 
mit him  to  err,  and  causes  him  to  write  those 
things  which  God  wills.'  Therefore,  that  any 
Scripture  be  inspired,  it  is  requisite:  (i)  That  the 
writer  be  excited  to  write  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  (2) 
that  in  writing  he  be  not  only  kept  exempt  from 
all  error  whatsoever  ;  but  also  (3),  although  inspira- 
tion is  not  requisite  to  give  him  knowledge  of  things 
which  he  already  knows,  since,  by  the  very  sup- 
position, they  are  already  known,  there  is  requisite 
a  positive  action  on  the  mind  of  the  writer,  in  re- 
spect both  to  those  things  which  are  already  known, 
and  those  not  before  known,  to  make  him  write 
them,  so  far  as  their  substance  is  concerned,  and  in 
the  act  of  writing  ;  (4)  what,  in  fact,  is  included 
in  the  foregoing,  that  only  those  things  which  God 
wills  should  be  written,  all  other  matters  being 
excluded."  *  The  more  orthodox  Protestants  have 
generally  held  this  doctrine  of  plenary  inspiration, 
and  still  hold  it.  I  have  all  along  taken  this  doc- 
trine as  granted  by  those  I  am  specially  addressing, 
and  I  have,  therefore,  constantly  cited  the  declara- 
tions of  Holy  Scripture  as  not  merely  trustworthy 
or  even  certainly  unerring  statements  of  that  which 
God  has  revealed,  but  as  themselves  the  very  word 
of  God.  Now,  before  I  conclude  this  treatise,  I 
*  "  De  Eccl.,"  Vol.  II.,  disp.  xi.  sect.  i.  §  22. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  229 

shall  furnish  evidence  that  the  doctrine  thus  as- 
sumed as  a  divine  truth,  and  admitted  by  those 
whom  I  address,  is  really  true  because  it  is  taught 
by  the  church,  and  this  evidence  will  therefore  have 
a  retroactive  effect  upon  the  whole  argument. 
Nevertheless,  I  do  not  wish  to  content  myself  with 
this,  but  to  show  also  what  is  the  real  and  deter- 
mining motive  of  credibility  which  has  preserved 
such  a  deeply-rooted  and  general  conviction  among 
Protestants,  that  the  Scripture  is,  strictly  speaking, 
and  in  the  Catholic  sense,  the  inspired  word  of 
God. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  certainly  not  any  frequent 
and  distinct  statements  found  in  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves. They  do  not  contain  any  clear  and  explicit 
rules  for  determining  the  canon,  or  explain  the 
specific  difference  of  a  canonical  book  which  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  a  book  which  contains  sound  and 
wholesome  doctrine  or  true  and  edifying  history, 
though  it  is  not  canonical.  There  are  some  pas- 
sages which  imply  the  doctrine  of  plenary  inspira- 
tion, if  that  doctrine  is  already  proved  to  be  the 
common  belief  at  the  time  these  passages  were 
written.  There  are  also  allusions  in  some  canonical 
books  to  others,  as  belonging  to  the  Scripture. 
This  scanty  and  indirect  proof  is  not,  however,  suf- 
ficient to  settle  precisely  the  exact  canon,  or  to  de- 
termine clearly,  much  less  to  make  known  at  first 


230  The    Way  of  Salvation, 

hand,  to  an  ordinary  reader,  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  inspiration  of  that  which  is  Holy  Scripture  as 
such. 

Let  my  Presbyterian  friend  ask  himself  why  he 
believed  at  the  age  of  six  or  nine  years  with  such  an 
undoubting  assent  that  his  Bible  contained  the 
whole  of  inspired  scripture,  and  nothing  but  inspired 
scripture,  truly  inspired  in  such  a  sense  that 
God  is  its  author.  I  have  no  doubt  for  myself 
that  in  every  case  a  child  who  is  taught  this 
believes  it  simply  because  he  is  taught  it  by 
his  parents  and  religious  instructors.  If  he  be- 
comes familiar  with  the  Bible  by  frequently 
hearing  it  read  and  by  reading  it,  this  belief  is  con- 
firmed and  strengthened  by  the  internal  evidence 
which  the  sacred  books  give  of  themselves.  When 
the  child  grows  up,  and  acquires  a  more  extended 
and  explicit  knowledge  of  the  grounds  of  his  re- 
ligious belief,  what  is  it  which  convinces  his  mind 
that  the  books  he  was  taught  to  regard  as  the  in- 
spired word  of  God  are  certainly  genuine,  authentic, 
and  inspired  ?  And  if  he  is  called  upon  to  vindicate 
and  prove  his  belief,  what  argument  will  he  adduce 
as  the  most  conclusive  ?  In  a  general  way,  un- 
doubtedly, the  internal  evidence  of  the  divine  origin 
and  nature  of  the  religion  revealed  through  Moses 
and  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  genuine,  authentic 
character  of  the  documents  of  that  religion,  will  con- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  231 

vince  him,  and  enable  him  to  vindicate  his  convic- 
tions. But  for  a  precise,  categorical  proof  that  the 
canon  contains  such  and  such  books  he  will  be  forced 
to  recur  to  the  authority  of  a  universal  and  primitive 
tradition.  These  books,  and  no  others,  he  will  say, 
belong  to  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  because 
the  testimony  of  all  competent  witnesses,  every- 
where and  always,  proves  that  they,  and  they  alone, 
had  the  original  sanction  of  the  apostles.  In  re- 
gard to  the  Old  Testament,  he  will  say  the  same 
thing.  And  he  will  justly  consider  the  concurrence 
of  the  Jews  with  all  Christians  in  respect  to  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  as  an  additional  and  irrefragable 
proof  of  their  authenticity.  His  ignorance  of  the 
grounds  on  which  the  canonicity  of  the  Hellenistic 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  rests  does  not  invalidate 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment  respecting  those 
which  are  in  the  Hebrew  canon. 

In  regard  to  inspiration,  it  is  the  same  thing. 
He  knows  that  the  founders  of  the  Protestant  sects 
received  their  doctrine  of  inspiration  from  the 
Catholic  Church  ;  that  the  Eastern  Christians  hold 
the  same  doctrine  ;  and  that  it  is  the  orthodox  tradi- 
tion of  the  synagogue  received  from  the  old  time 
before  the  coming  of  Christ.  In  a  word,  he  virtu- 
ally recognizes  the  church,  as  established  by  Moses, 
and  reconstituted  in  its  universal  form  by  the 
apostles,  as  the  guardian  and  keeper  of  the  Holy 


232  The  Way  of  Salvation, 

Scripture,  and  the  witness  to  its  integrity  and  in- 
spiration, in  this  respect  indefectible  and  preserved 
from  error  by  the  special   providence   of  God. 

So  far,  then,  he  never  finds  any  good  reason 
for  rejecting  or  doubting  the  instruction  of  his  pa- 
rents and  religious  teachers,  which  is  really  the 
instruction  of  the  universal  church  reaching  him 
through  the  medium  of  their  testimony.  Although 
he  does  not  know  that  the  church  is  infallible,  yet 
he  is  reasonably  convinced  that  in  this  respect  the 
testimony  of  that  whole  body  of  Christians  within 
whose  limits  the  true  church  must  be  somewhere 
found  does  not  and  cannot  deceive  him.  He  has, 
therefore,  the  revelation  of  God  sufficiently  proposed 
to  him  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  the  Written  Word, 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  course  infallible, 
in  so  far  as  the  true  sense  of  the  Scripture  is  mani- 
fest on  the  face  of  it,  or  capable  of  being  deter- 
mined with  certainty  by  the  means  at  his  com- 
mand. 

Let  us  see,  now,  what  value  there  is  in  his  pre- 
sumption that  his  own  sect  is  the  true  church,  or 
a  part  of  it,  and  really  holds  the  essential  doctrine 
of  Christ,  and  lawfully  administers  the  sacraments, 
because  it  is  the  channel  through  which  the  Holy 
Scripture  and  certain  doctrines  manifestly  pertaining 
to  the  Christian  faith  have  been  transmitted  to 
him.     That  he  must  begin  with  this  presumption, 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  233 

and  is  justified  in  following  the  teaching  he  has  re- 
ceived until  he  finds  a  grave  reason  for  doubting  it, 
is  manifest.  But  a  presumption  of  this  kind  can 
never  shut  out  the  right  and  obligation  of  paying 
due  attention  to  such  a  doubt,  and  of  rejecting  all 
that  part  of  the  instruction  one  has  received  from 
the  sect  of  which  he  is  a  disciple,  as  soon  as  he  has 
a  sufficient  reason  for  doing  so. 

This  presumption  is  very  much  weakened  as 
soon  as  he  knows  that  his  sect  differs,  in  regard  to 
those  things  which  belong  to  the  very  essence  of 
the  church,  of  Christian  doctrine,  and  of  the  sacra- 
ments, from  the  great  majority  of  professing  Chris- 
tians who  receive  the  Holy  Scripture  as  the  inspired 
word  of  God.  Why  should  he  presume  that  his 
sect  is  right,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  Protestant 
sects  ?  If  he  says  that  it  is  not  exclusively  right, 
but  that  the  pure  church  is  composed  of  all  these 
sects  together,  why  should  he  presume  that  they 
are  right  in  contradistinction  to  the  Catholic  and  the 
Eastern  Churches  ?  It  is  not  safe  to  act  on  a  pre- 
sumption that  the  sense  of  the  Holy  Scripture  is 
rightly  understood  by  a  certain  number  of  indivi- 
duals professing  to  follow  private  and  individual 
illumination  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  a  much 
larger  number,  in  the  present  and  during  many  fore- 
going ages,  hold  a  different  or  contrary  sense. 
Something  more  certain  and  decisive  is  necessary  j 


234  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

that  he  may  discern  where  the  right  is  to  be  ascer- 
tained with  security  to  his  conscience.  For  the 
present  he  is  thrown  back  upon  himself,  and  oblig- 
ed to  make  use  of  his  own  reason  and  judgment, 
with  what  light  he  can  obtain  from  God  by  prayer. 
He  must  examine  the  pretence  of  his  own  church 
to  teach  him  the  truth,  and  to  give  him  the  sacra- 
ments. As  soon  as  he  begins  to  do  this  seriously, 
this  pretence  will  be  found  to  have  no  warrant 
whatever.  It  is  in  contradiction  with  itself.  For, 
on  the  one  hand,  as  we  have  seen,  and  as  a  very 
little  reflection  will  show  to  any  one,  the  doctrine 
which  he  has  learned  has  been  given  him  by 
instruction,  and  by  practically  following  the 
Catholic  method  of  teaching  by  authority  a  cer- 
tain sense  of  the  Scripture  which  is  positively 
determined,  and  by  which  the  text  of  the 
same  is  interpreted  and  understood.  On  the 
other,  this  sense  is  distinctly  affirmed  to  be  no- 
thing more  than  the  result  of  the  agreement  of  a 
number  of  persons  in  their  own  private  judgment 
of  the  meaning  of  Scripture,  founded  on  their  own 
personal  examination,  and  deriving  its  value  from 
the  illumination  which  each  one  separately  has  re- 
ceived from  the  Holy  Spirit.  Each  one  is  re- 
ferred to  the  Scripture,  that  he  may  receive  the 
truth  directly  and  immediately  from  the  inspired 
word   of  God.     The   Presbyterian  Church   and  the 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  235 

other  sects  existing  among  the  disciples  of  Luther 
and  Calvin  thus  in  the  same  breath  claim  and  dis- 
claim authority  to  teach,  and  betray  in  their  uncer- 
tain, inconsistent  speech  their  utter  want  of  any 
legitimate  possession  of  right  to  teach,  as  a  person 
of  unsettled  mind  betrays  his  insanity  by  his  in- 
coherent conversation. 

The  serious  Protestant  enquirer  may  also  very 
easily  perceive,  from  all  the  foregoing  considerations 
presented  to  him  in  this  book,  that  the  certain,  in- 
disputable truths  of  divine  revelation  which  he  has 
learned  through  his  teachers  are  just  those  which 
they  have  merely  transmitted  to  him  from  the  an- 
cient and  universal  tradition.  Of  themselves,  they 
give  him  nothing  except  the  denial  of  all  exterior 
authority,  and  a  mass  of  disputes  in  which  they 
have  been  engaged,  after  the  manner  of  the  rival 
factions  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  which  on 
their  principles  can  never  be  settled.  What  is  to 
be  done  in  such  a  case  ?  For  the  present  the  seri- 
ous enquirer  must  continue  to  enquire  and  search 
until  he  finds  the  true  church.  His  own  sect  and 
all  the  sects  of  the  reformation  of  Luther  refer  him 
to  the  Scriptures.  All  churches  that  can  possibly 
claim  his  attention  recognize  their  authority  and 
appeal  to  it  in  support  and  proof  of  their  own  right. 
Let  him  examine,  then,  with  due  rectitude  of  mind, 
humility  of  heart,  piety  of  intention,  and   diligence 


236  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

of  search,  what  the  Scriptures  teach  in  such  a  way 
that  he  can  be  sure  of  their  true  sense.  The  Lord 
said  to  the  Jews  on  one  occasion  :  "  Search  the 
Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life, 
and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me."  Certainly, 
the  true  church  may  say  the  same  to  all  who  believe 
the  Bible  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God.  And,  in 
point  ol  fact,  all  that  previous  searching  which  I 
suppose  my  reader  to  have  made,  and  that  which 
he  has  made  while  reading  this  book,  must  have 
brought  him  already  very  near  to  the  discovery  of 
the  true  church.  For  not  only  have  I  shown  that 
the  presumption  in  favor  of  any  one  or  any  collec- 
tion among  Protestant  sects  being  the  church  or 
any  part  of  it,  is  without  anything  to  sustain  it  ob- 
jectively, but  I  have  proved  that  these  sects,  so  far 
as  they  follow  Lutheran  or  Calvinistic  doctrine,  sub- 
vert and  deny  several  doctrines  of  faith,  and  are 
therefore  heretical.  Moreover,  the  whole  course  of 
this  argument  has  at  least  shown  that  there  is  a  vio- 
lent presumption  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  prove  directly  from  the 
Scripture  that  there  is  and  can  be  but  one  church, 
which  is  the  Catholic  Church,  founded  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  existing  in  unbroken  continuity  to  the 
end  of  time,  as  the  only  Way  of  Salvation  for  man- 
kind. 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

The  Nature,  Attributes,  and  Organic  Principles  of  the  True 
Church  proved  from  Scripture — Proof  that  the  Holy,  Catho- 
lic, Apostolic,  Roman  Church  is  the  One  True  Church 
founded  by  Jesus  Christ — The  Only  Way  of  Salvation  is  in 
the  Catholic  Church — Conclusion. 

THE  proposition  to  be  proved  in  this  chapter 
includes  two  distinct  parts :  First,  The 
Scripture  teaches  that  there  is  and  can  be  but  one 
church,  founded  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  existing  in 
unbroken  continuity  to  the  end  of  time,  as  the  only 
Way  of  Salvation  for  all  mankind.  Second,  the 
Scripture  teaches  that  the  Catholic  Church,  or  that 
society  which  in  its  universal  extension  through 
time  and  space  exists  in  organic  unity  under  the 
monarchy  of  St.  Peter  and  his  successors,  is  the  one 
true  church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  prove  the  admitted  fact  that 
Jesus  Christ  founded  a  visible  church.  What  must 
be  proved  is  that  he  founded  it  in  organic  unity 
and  perpetual  organic  continuity,  as  the  only  Way 
of  Salvation,  and  therefore  containing  in  itself  all 
the  means  of  grace  which  conduce  to  salvation. 
That  the  Son  of  God,  before  his  incarnation, 
founded   the  Jewish  Church  in  organic  unity  and  a 

*37 


238  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

limited  perpetuity — that  is,  to  last  until  he  came  on 
the  earth  in  human  form — is  undoubted.  It  is  there- 
fore to  be  presumed  that  he  founded  the  Christian 
Church  in  organic  unity  and  in  a  perpetuity  with- 
out limits,  except  those  which  bound  time  itself. 
This  presumption  cannot  be  set  aside,  except  by 
showing  that  a  church  without  perpetual  organic 
unity  would  be  more  perfect.  I  have  shown, 
however,  in  a  former  part  of  this  volume,  that 
this  cannot  be  true  ;  wherefore  the  presumption 
stands,  and  is  really  an  amply  sufficient  proof  of  the 
thesis.  I  will  add  to  it,  however,  not  by  any  means 
the  whole  positive  proof,  from  express  statements 
of  Scripture,  but  a  sufficient  quantity  of  it,  premis- 
ing that  this  presumption  must  rule  the  interpreta- 
tion of  texts,  and  determine  their  sense  in  favor  of 
organic,  visible  unity,  when  they  are  otherwise  capa- 
ble, or  may  be  thought  capable,  of  another  sense. 

The  unity  of  organization  and  consequently  of 
government  in  the  church  is  proved,  in  the  first 
place,  from  the  names  and  titles  given  to  it 
everywhere  throughout  the  Scripture."  One  of 
these  names  is  "  body,"  clearly  denoting  the  cor- 
porate unity  of  the  church.  Robinson  defines  the 
Greek  word  used  in  the  New  Testament  in  the  pas- 
sages referred   to  as  signifying  in  its  primary  sense 

*  The  author  acknowledges  his  great  obligation  to  Dr.  Murray 
("  De  Ecclesia  ")  for  the  materials  of  this  part  of  the  present  treatise. 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  239 

"  an  organized  whole  made  up  of  parts  and  mem- 
bers." As  Cornelius  a,  Lapide  (on  Rom.  xii.  4) 
well  remarks :  "  As  in  a  body  there  are  four  proper- 
ties ;  first,  corporeal  unity  ;  second,  diversity  of  mem- 
bers; third,  diversity  of  functions  in  the  single 
members  ;  fourth,  aptitude  and  power  in  each  mem- 
ber for  fulfilling  its  function  ;  so  there  is  a  precise 
resemblance  of  all  these  things  in  the  church  and  in 
its  individual  members,  to  wit,  the  Christian  faithful." 
The  church  is,  therefore,  a  corporation,  which  Web- 
ster defines  to  be  "a  body  politic  or  corporate, 
formed  and  authorized  by  law  to  act  as  a  single  in- 
dividual." 

Another  still  more  specific  and  significant  name 
is  "  kingdom."  The  Jews  understood  this  in  a  lit- 
eral sense.  Whatever  was  false  in  their  conception 
Our  Lord  repeatedly  and  explicitly  corrected.  We 
must,  therefore,  take  their  sense  as  correct  in  all 
respects  besides  that  one  which  he  condemned. 
Now,  their  error  consisted  altogether  in  the  purely 
temporal  and  political  nature  which  they  ascribed 
to  the  kingdom  of  the  Messias,  with  the  conse- 
quences following  from  this  erroneous  conception. 
We  must  therefore  regard  the  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  really  and  truly  a  monarchy,  a  visible  soci- 
ety of  men  bound  together  by  laws  and  government ; 
though  a  spiritual  monarchy,  having  a  superna- 
tural   end,    distinct    from    civil    society    and    supe- 


240  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

rior  to  it,  according  to  the  Catholic  idea  of  the 
church. 

The  other  metaphorical  names,  "city,"  "  house," 
"temple,"  "sheepfold,"  •"  mustard-seed  "  growing 
up  to  a  great  tree  with  wide  branches,  denote  unity 
in  a  similar  manner.  But  especially  the  holy  and 
tender  names  of  "  spouse  "  and  "  bride  "  given  to 
the  church  show  that  she  is  one  and  alone,  and  in- 
dissolubly  bound  in  sacramental  union  to  Christ,  all 
others  who  claim  the  name  being  necessarily  vile 
impostors.     "  One  is  my  dove,  my  perfect  one."  * 

The  context  of  the  particular  passages  in  which 
these  names  of  the  church  occur  amplifies  and  illus- 
trates the  idea  of  unity  in  a  manner  which  only  a 
separate  treatise  could  exhibit  with  due  clearness 
and  completeness.  Let  any  one  read  the  prophets 
with  this  intention  in  view,  and  he  will  be  overawed 
by  their  incomparable  splendor  of  language  and  im- 
agery in  describing  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth, 
the  church  of  the  Messias  whose  reign  they  foretold. 

"  Arise,  shine  ;  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For,  behold, 
darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness 
the  people :  but  the  Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee, 
and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee.  And  the 
Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to 
the  brightness  of  thy  rising.  Lift  up  thine  eyes 
*  Cant.  v.  8. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  241 

round  about,  and  see  :  all  they  gather  themselves 
together,  they  come  to  thee  :  thy  sons  shall  come 
from  far,  and  thy  daughters  shall  be  nursed  at  thy 
side.  Then  thou  shalt  see,  and  flow  together,  and 
thine  heart  shall  fear,  and  be  enlarged  ;  because  the 
abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto  thee, 
the  forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee. 
The  multitude  of  camels  shall  cover  thee,  the  dro- 
medaries of  Midian  and  Ephah  ;  all  they  from  Sheba 
shall  come :  they  shall  bring  gold  and  incense ; 
and  they  shall  shew  forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord. 
All  the  flocks  of  Kedar  shall  be  gathered  together 
unto  thee,  the  rams  of  Nebaioth  shall  minister  unto 
thee :  they  shall  come  up  with  acceptance  on  mine 
altar,  and  I  will  glorify  the  house  of  my  glory. 
Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud,  and  as  the  doves 
to  their  windows  ?  Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for 
me,  and  the  ships  of  Tarshish  first,  to  bring  thy  sons 
from  far,  their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them,  unto 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  because  he  hath  glorified  thee.  And 
the  sons  of  strangers  shall  build  up  thy  walls,  and 
their  kings  shall  minister  unto  thee  :  for  in  my  wrath 
I  smote  thee,  but  in  my  favor  have  I  had  mercy  on 
thee.  Therefore  thy  gates  shall  be  open  continu- 
ally ;  they  shall  not  be  shut  day  nor  night ;  that 
men  may  bring  unto  thee  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles, 
and  that  their  kings  may  be   brought.       For   the 


242  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall 
perish ;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted. 
The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  come  unto  thee,  the  fir 
tree,  the  pine  tree,  and  the  box  together,  to  beautify 
the  place  of  my  sanctuary ;  and  I  will  make  the 
place  of  my  feet  glorious.  The  sons  also  of  them 
that  afflicted  thee  shall  come  bending  unto  thee ; 
and  all  they  that  despised  thee  shall  bow  themselves 
down  at  the  soles  of  thy  feet ;  and  they  shall  call 
thee,  The  city  of  the  Lord,  The  Zion  of  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel.  Whereas  thou  hast  been  forsaken 
and  hated,  so  that  no  man  went  through  thee,  I  will 
make  thee  an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy  of  many 
generations.  Thou  shalt  also  suck  the  milk  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  shalt  suck  the  breast  of  kings  :  and 
thou  shalt  know  that  I  the  Lord  am  thy  Saviour 
and  thy  Redeemer,  the  mighty  One  of  Jacob.  For 
brass  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for-iron  I  will  bring  sil- 
ver, and  for  wood  brass,  and  for  stones  iron  :  I  will 
also  make  thy  officers  peace,  and  thine  exactors 
righteousness.  Violence  shall  no  more  be  heard  in 
thy  land,  wasting  nor  destruction  within  thy  bor- 
ders ;  but  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  Salvation,  and 
thy  gates  Praise.  The  sun  shall  be  no  more  thy 
light  by  day ;  neither  for  brightness  shall  the 
moon  give  light  unto  thee  :  but  the  Lord  shall  be 
unto  thee  an  everlasting  light,  and  thy  God  thy 
glory.     Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down  ;  neither 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  243 

shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself :  for  the  Lord  shall 
be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy 
mourning  shall  be  ended.  Thy  people  also  shall  be 
all  righteous :  they  shall  inherit  the  land  for  ever, 
the  branch  of  my  planting,  the  work  of  my  hands, 
that  I  may  be  glorified.  A  little  one  shall  become 
a  thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation  :  I  the 
Lord  will  hasten  it  in  his  time."  * 

This  one  passage  must  suffice  as  a  specimen  of 
the  prophecies  concerning  the  church.  The  apos- 
tles express  the  same  ideas  in  a  calmer  and  more 
didactic  form  in  many  parts  of  their  epistles.  For 
instance,  St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  declares 
that  God  raised  Jesus  from  the  dead,  "and  set  him 
at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far 
above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  do- 
minion, and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come  :  and 
hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be 
the  head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  which  is  his 
body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  fillet h  all  in  all."  And 
again  :  "  Ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but 
fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of 
God  ;  and  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone  ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed 
together  growethunto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord."f 
*  Is.  c.  lx.  f  Eph.  i.  20-23  I  ii-  19-21. 


244  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Our  Lord  himself  declares  that  "  there  shall  be  one 
fold  and  one  shepherd  "  ;  and  he  prayed  with  an 
efficacious  prayer,  which  no  failure  on  the  part  of 
man  could  prevent  from  being  fulfilled,  that  the 
apostles  and  their  disciples  for  ever  might  be  joined 
in  a  unity  similar  to  that  of  the  Three  Divine  Per- 
sons, which  should  give  the  church  a  glory  like  his 
own,  and  be  a  manifest  sign  to  all  men  of  the  reality 
of  his  divine  mission.  M  That  they  all  may  be  one, 
as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  us :  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory  which  thou 
gavest  me,  I  have  given  them  ;  that  they  may  be 
one,  even  as  we  are  one."  • 

That  there  is  and  can  be  but  one  true  church 
is  further  proved  by  the  denunciation  of  heresy, 
schism,  sects,  and  sectarian  teachers  in  the  New 
Testament.  M  A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  after  the 
first  and  second  admonition,  reject ;  knowing  that 
he  that  is  such  is  subverted,  and  sinneth,  being  con- 
demned of  himself."  "  But  there  were  false  pro- 
phets also  among  the  people,  even  as  there  shall  be 
false  teachers  among  you,  who  privily  shall  bring  in 
damnable  heresies,  even  denying  the  Lord  that 
bought  them,  and  bring  upon  themselves  swift  de- 
struction." "  For  such  are  false  apostles,  deceitful 
wrorkers,  transforming  themselves  into  the  apostles 
*  St.  John  x.  16  ;  xvii.  21,  22. 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  245 

of  Christ.  And  no  marvel ;  for  Satan  himself  is 
transformed  into  an  angel  of  light.  Therefore  it  is 
no  great  thing  if  his  ministers  also  be  transformed 
as  the  ministers  of  righteousness  ;  whose  end  shall 
be  according  to  their  works."  * 

It  is  evident  that  the  faithful  formed  one  commu- 
nion during  the  apostolic  age,  and  that  those  who 
set  themselves  up  as  rivals  to  the  apostles  and  to 
the  clergy  of  the  apostolic  communion,  teaching  a 
different  doctrine  and  making  separate  sects,  were 
denounced  as  impostors  and  ministers  of  Satan, 
who  led  their  followers  to  destruction,  and  -not  to 
salvation.  And  this  leads  me  to  the  consideration 
of  the  hierarchical  constitution  which  Jesus  Christ 
gave  to  his  church,  and  which  was  the  law  of  its 
external  and  visible  unity. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  go  over  again  the  oft- 
repeated  argument  of  the  apostolic  commission  given 
by  Our  Lord  to  St.  Peter  and  his  associates.  It  is 
plainly  written  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  where  it  can 
be  known  and  read  of  all  men.  No  one  of  those 
who  have  read  and  sincerely  revere  the  New  Testa- 
ment will  deny  that  the  apostles  were  universal 
governors  and  teachers  of  the  church,  and  that  the 
one  plain  mark  of  the  true  church,  in  which  the  pure 
word  of  God  was  preached,  and  the  sacraments 
rightly  administered  according  to  Christ's  ordinance, 
*  Tit.  iii.  10  ;  2  St.  Peter  ii.  1  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  13-15. 


246  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

was,  during  the   apostolic  age,    its    submission    to 
apostolic  rule  and  doctrine.     St.  John  declares  this 
in  express  words  :  "  We  are  of  God  :  he  that  know- 
eth  God  heareth  us  ;  he  that  is  not  of  God  heareth 
not  us.     Hereby  knozv  zue  the  spirit  of  truth,  and  the 
spirit  of  error ." *     The  point  which  I  wish  to  insist 
on  is  that,  by  this  apostolic  commission,  a  perma- 
nent hierarchical  order  was  established,  an  Ecclesia 
Docens,  a  Teaching  Church,  supreme  and  therefore 
infallible  as  a  proximate  Rule  of  Faith,  with  the 
other  consequent  and  necessary  powers  of  making 
and  enforcing  laws,  under  whose  obedience  the  only 
way  of  salvation  can  alone  be  found.     These  two 
essential  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the  church 
are  most   closely  connected  with,  and  involved  in, 
each    other.      A   hierarchical    order   to   which   the 
office  of  teaching  and  law-giving   is  committed  by 
divine  authority,  without  any  restriction   or  appeal 
and  which  the   faithful  are   bound  unreservedly  to 
obey,  must  be  secured  from  error  so  far  as  to  pre- 
vent its  vitiating  the  doctrine  and  law  of  which  it  is 
the  authorized  expositor  and  executive  magistracy. 
Under    a    dispensation  like  that   of    the   universal 
church,  this  security  requires  that  it  should  be  made 
infallible  in   faith   and  morals.     A  permanent  and 
universal  hierarchy  cannot  subsist  without  infalli- 
bility.    The   converse  of  this  is  also  true.     An  in- 
*  1  St.  John  iv.  6. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  247 

fallible  authority  cannot  subsist  in  the  church 
without  a  hierarchical  order.  All  the  proofs  from 
the  Scripture,  therefore,  for  the  one,  are  also  proofs 
of  the  other.  These  proofs  are  both  clear  and 
abundant. 

The  Old  Testament  furnishes  some  which  are 
most  striking.  The  prophet  Isaias,  describing  the 
Christian  church,  says  :  "  A  highway  shall  be  there, 
and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called  The  way  of  holi- 
ness ;  the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it ;  but  it  shall 
be  for  those  (it  shall  be  for  you  a  direct  way — Vul- 
gate), the  wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err 
therein."  Again:  "  O  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with 
tempest,  and  not  comforted,  behold,  I  will  lay  thy 
stones  with  fair  colors,  and  lay  thy  foundations  with 
sapphires.  And  I  will  make  thy  windows  of  agates, 
and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  thy  borders 
of  pleasant  stones.  And  all  thv  children  shall  be 
taught  of  the  Lord  ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of 
thy  children.  .  .  .  No  weapon  that  is  formed 
against  thee  shall  prosper ;  and  every  tongue  that 
shall  rise  against  thee  thou  shalt  condemn."  *  That 
which  the  prophet  sets  forth  with  such  splendor  of 
imagery  St.  Paul  declares  in  plain,  set  terms,  which, 
though  brief,  are  perfectly  distinct  and  precise : 
"  These  things  write  I  unto  thee,  hoping  to  come 
unto  thee  shortly :  but  if  I  tarry  long,  that  thou 
*Is.  xxxv.,  liv. 


248  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself 
in  the  house  of  God,  which  is  the  church  of  the  liv- 
ing God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  *  The 
church  is  the  royal  and  secure  way  of  salvation, 
teaching  that  faith  and  commanding  those  works  by 
which  men  must  be  saved,  until  the  end  of  the 
world.  Therefore  she  has  been  established  in  a 
perpetual  order  and  an  infallible  permanence  in 
faith,  as  the  necessary  means  of  her  indefectibility, 
by  the  institution  of  her  Founder.  The  instructions 
by  virtue  of  which  the  apostles  were  empowered  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  the  indestructible  edifice  of 
the  church  were  given  to  them,  specifically  and  mi- 
nutely, by  Our  Lord,  during  the  great  forty  days 
which  elapsed  between  Easter  Sunday  and  the  As- 
cension :  "  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speak- 
ing of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God."f  Extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
were  also  infused  into  them  on  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost, by  virtue  of  which  they  were  enabled  to  re- 
member and  understand  unerringly  the  verbal  in- 
structions received  from  the  Lord,  and  were  di- 
rected in  respect  to  all  things  requisite  to  the  solid 
foundation  of  the  church.  The  constitution  which 
they  gave  to  the  church  is  the  one  which  is  by  its 
very  nature  perpetual  and  unalterable.  It  is  a  most 
violent  and  gratuitous  assumption,  and  one  contrary 
*i  Tim.  iii.  14,  15-  f  Acts  i.  3. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  249 

to  all  probability,  that  Our  Lord  should  have  estab- 
lished a  provisional  and  temporary  constitution, 
hierarchy,  government,  rule  of  faith,  in  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  universal  church,  to  be  succeeded 
afterwards  by  institutions  totally  different.  Those 
who  make  it  are  bound  to  give  explicit  and  clear 
proof  from  the  canonical  scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament  to  justify  their  hypothesis,  which  they 
ever  have  and  ever  must  fail  to  do.  I  have  proved 
that  the  church  which  Christ  founded  was  One  ;  it 
was  necessarily  Catholic  as  soon  as  it  was  opened 
to  the  Gentiles  and  they  began  to  flock-  into  its  pre- 
cincts ;  no  one  will  question  that  it  was  Holy  and 
Apostolic.  Because  it  was  first  established  with 
these  four  marks,  it  must  continue  to  bear  them  to 
the  end  of  time.  Apostolic  in  constitution  and 
government  during  its  first  epoch,  that  is,  hierarch- 
ical, with  a  subordination  of  its  parts  and  members 
to  a  supreme,  infallible  teaching  and  ruling  authori- 
ty ;  apostolic,  hierarchical,  subject  to  sovereign  au- 
thority and  jurisdiction  over  the  mind  and  con- 
science of  individual  members,  in  respect  to  faith 
and  morals,  it  must  continue,  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  Whatever  relates  solely  to  the  first  foun- 
dation and  institution  of  the  church,  its  per- 
petual laws,  its  sacraments,  and  other  things 
of  like  nature,  which  need  to  be  done  and 
can  be    done   but    once  for   all,    must,    indeed,   be 


250  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

regarded  as  a  special,  extraordinary,  and  transient 
attribute  of  the  apostolic  office.  But  all  that  relates 
to  the  exercise  of  powers  and  functions  which  in 
their  nature  are  continuous  and  perpetual  must  be 
permanent,  and  the  office  itself  must  be  as  per- 
manent as  the  end  for  which  it  was  established. 
The  divine  revelation  once  completed,  there  is  no 
further  occasion  for  the  gift  of  inspiration.  The 
essential  order  of  the  church,  and  the  sacraments, 
once  established,  the  power  given  to  this  end  ceases 
of  itself.  The  gifts  of  miracles,  of  speaking  all  lan- 
guages, of  prophecy,  etc.,  their  end  being  accom- 
plished,cease  to  be  the  regular  and  invariable  adjuncts 
of  the  apostolic  character.  There  are  certain  powers 
which  the  first  founders  and  authors  of  a  divine 
society  must  have  as  founders,  and  first  in  the  line 
of  rulers,  and  which  cannot  be  transmitted  to  their 
successors  even  as  attributes  of  supreme  and  sove- 
reign power.  The  power  of  teaching  and  ruling  is 
one,  however,  in  its  nature  continuous  and  perma- 
nent. A  hierarchical  jurisdiction,  so  ordered  as  to 
bind  all  the  members  of  the  body  into  one  corporate 
organization  under  one  supreme  authority,  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  a  church  which  has  visible  unity  and 
catholicity  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  through  all 
time.  This  is  evident  in  itself.  But  it  is  also  ex- 
plicitly and  clearly  declared  in  the  New  Testament. 
Not  only  is  the  grant  of  authority  to  the  apostles 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  251 

for  founding  the  church  expressly  stated,  but  the 
perpetuity  of  their  office  in  a  line  of  apostolic  suc- 
cession is  just  as  expressly  and  distinctly  declared, 
as  many  learned  and  able  authors  have  repeatedly 
proved  at  great  length  and  by  the  most  unanswer- 
able arguments,  and  as  all  Christians,  except  a  very 
small  minority,  have  always  and  everywhere  be- 
lieved. There  is  no  need  to  repeat  these  arguments 
here.  The  words  of  the  Holy  Scripture  are  familiar 
to  all  who  read  it.  They  are  few,  but  they  are  clear 
and  emphatic.  They  tell  us  that  Our  Lord  com- 
manded the  apostles  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  all  the 
world  and  to  all  men;  to  teach  them  the  observance 
of  all  the  commandments  they  had  received  from 
him  ;  to  baptize  them  into  the  communion  of  the 
church  ;  to  bear  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
to  remit  and  retain  sins ;  and  that  he  promised  to 
be  with  them  always,  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Moreover,  he  likened  their  mission  from  himself 
to  his  own  mission  from  the  Father,  and  declared 
that  to  receive  or  reject,  to  hear  or  despise  them, 
would  be  equivalent  to  paying  honor  or  manifesting 
contempt  toward  his  own  royal  and  divine  -Person. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  individual  apostles 
personally  commissioned  by  Our  Lord  were  not 
endowed  with  a  power  merely  personal,  destined  to 
expire  with  them,  but  with  one  destined  to  survive 
in  a  hierarchical  order  deriving  its  authority  from 


252  The   Way  of  Salvation. 

them  by  lawful  succession  to  the  end  of  the 
world. 

Moreover,  Our  Lord  made  a  specific  and  distinct 
promise  to  send  the  Holy  Spirit  to  teach  the  apos- 
tles and  their  successors,  to  keep  them  in  the  truth, 
and  to  enable  them  to  fulfil  their  office  as  teachers 
of  all  mankind  to  the  end  of  the  world.  "  I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever ; 
even  the  Spirit  of  truth  ;  whom  the  world  cannot 
receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth 
him  :  but  ye  know  him  ;  for  he  dwelleth  with  you, 
and  shall  be  in  you.  .  .  .  The  Comforter,  which 
is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in 
my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said 
unto  you."  * 

The  pretence  of  sectarians  to  the  illumination  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  possession  of  the  truth,  and 
all  the  illusions  of  false  mysticism,  of  private,  in- 
terior light,  of  private  judgment  on  the  Scripture, 
of  immediate  union  with  Christ  apart  from  the 
communion  of  the  true  church — the  whole  baseless, 
shadowy  fabric  of  Luther  and  Calvin  is  swept  away 
by  these  declarations  of  Scripture  when  correctly 
explained  and  understood  according  to  the  ancient 
tradition  and  doctrine  of  Catholic  antiquity.  It  is 
•  St.  John  x\r.  16,  17,  26. 


The  Way  o£. ^Salvation.  253 

to  the  church,  and  eminently  to  the  teaching 
church,  the  apostolic  hierarchy,  deriving  its  author- 
ity and  doctrine  from  the  apostles,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  promised  and  given,  as  a  perpetual  gift  for 
all  ages;  From  the  hands  of  this  apostolic  hierarchy 
the  canonical  Scriptures  are  received,  stamped  with 
a  divine  sanction  as  inspired  writings,  guarded,  pre- 
served, and  authenticated,  with  their  true  sense  and 
exposition,  and  with  the  apostolic  tradition  which  is 
a  supplementary  and  concurrent  rule  of  faith.  The 
teaching  of  the  apostolic  hierarchy,  derived  from 
Scripture  and  Tradition,  and,  by  the  perpetual  assist- 
ance of  the  Holy  Spirit,  unerring  and  infallible,  is 
the  proximate  and  immediate  rule  of  faith  to  all  the 
children  of  God  in  Christ. 

What  the  true  church,  founded  by  Jesus  Christ, 
was,  is  therefore  plain  from  the  Holy  Scripture. 
Where  it  was,  and  which  society  is  identical 
with  the  original  apostolic  communion,  is  also  mani- 
fest from  the  New  Testament.  The  Churches  of 
Rome,  Alexandria,  Antioch,  Jerusalem,  Ephesus, 
Corinth,  Smyrna,  Crete,  governed  by  the  apostles 
themselves  and  by  St.  Mark,  St.  Timothy,  St.  Titus, 
St.  Ignatius,  St.  Polycarp,  and  the  other  bishops  es- 
tablished by  the  apostles  or  their  associates  and 
successors ;  the  churches  warned,  saluted,  and 
shown  in  prophetic  vision  by  St.  John  the  future 
which  was  before  them — these  churches,  bound  to- 


254  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

gether  in  one  universal  church,  are  the  church  of 
the  New  Testament.  They  make  up  the  catholic 
church  of  the  primitive  period,  which  appears  indis- 
tinctly in  the  scanty  records  of  the  ante-Nicene 
writers,  and  bursts  forth  in  glory  at  the  Council  of 
Nice,  when  the  sword  of  Constantine  is  seen  glitter- 
ing above  that  august  assembly  to  protect  the  faith 
proclaimed  by  their  decree.  This  is  the  "  One, 
Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church "  of  the 
Nicene  Creed. 

I  have  reserved  what  is  by  far  the  clearest,  strong- 
est, and  most  conclusive  proof  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  the  organic  unity,  hierarchical  constitution, 
sovereign  and  infallible  authority,  perpetual,  un- 
changeable continuity,  of  the  true,  Catholic  Church 
of  Jesus   Christ,   until  the  last. 

It  has  been  already  sufficiently  proved  that  the 
church  was  constituted  in  organic  unity  as  a 
body  politic  and  a  visible  kingdom.  It  has  also 
been  proved  that  a  hierarchy,  or  sacred  order  of 
spiritual  rulers  and  judges,  beginning  with  the  apos- 
tles, was  established,  which  should  be  perpetual  and 
indefectible.  This  true,  catholic  church  has  been 
identified  with  that  grand,  organized  multitude  of 
Christian  prelates,  clergy,  and  people  which  existed 
in  historical  continuity  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the 
conversion  of  Constantine,  and  was  represented  in  the 
Oecumenical  Council  of  Nice.     Not  only  all  commu- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  255 

nions  possessing  or  pretending  to  an  episcopal  suc- 
cession in  unbroken  descent  from  the  apostles,  but 
all  others,  called  orthodox,  recognize  and  acknow- 
ledge this  church  of  the  first  three  centuries  as  the 
Catholic  Church,  in  contradistinction  from  all  other 
sects  then  existing.  Its  episcopal  constitution,  ad- 
mitted as  an  undoubted  historical  fact  in  respect  to 
the  period  of  the  Nicene  Council,  is  not,  indeed, 
admitted  by  Protestants  generally  as  of  apostolic  in- 
stitution. I  have  not  dwelt  at  length  on  the  proof 
from  the  New  Testament  of  the  divine  institution 
and  special  powers  of  the  order  of  bishops  in  the 
church ;  because  I  have  a  more  direct  and  conclu- 
sive line  of  argument  before  me,  proving  the  essen- 
tially episcopal  constitution  of  distinct  and  local 
churches  as- involved  in  the  essentially  papal  con- 
stitution of  the  church  catholic.  I  have  proved 
enough,  however,  in  a  general  way,  to  make  it  evi- 
dent that  hierarchy  and  subordination  must  have 
been  established  in  the  order  of  the  clergy,  and 
a  supreme  power,  like  that  which  the  apostles  ex- 
ercised, controlling  the  rulers  and  teachers  of 
particular  portions  of  the  flock,  and  keeping 
them  in  unity  of  doctrine  and  discipline.  I  pro- 
ceed now  to  prove  that  the  organic  unity  of 
the  hierarchy  and  the  church  was  constituted 
in  a  monarchical  regimen,  or  a  sovereign  authority 
delegated     to    one    supreme    bishop,    the    Ruler, 


256  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Teacher,     and     Judge     of    the     whole     Catholic 
Church. 

The  very  idea  of  the  church,  as  one  body  politic, 
extending  over  the  whole  world,  demands  this  mo- 
narchical regimen  as  the  only  constitution  morally 
sufficient  and  possible,  except  by  a  constantly 
miraculous  providence.  The  notion  of  independent 
congregations,  each  one  governing  itself,  destroys 
the  very  conception  of  universal,  corporate  unity. 
Corporate  unity  may  exist  in  this  way  in  small 
bodies.  But  each  one  of  them  makes  a  separate 
unit  by  itself.  Independent  dioceses,  provinces,  or 
patriarchates  likewise  make  separate  though  larger 
units.  Councils  or  courts  composed  of  prelates,  or 
of  representatives  appointed  in  some  fixed  manner, 
executing  a  supreme  power,  may  to  a  certain  extent 
preserve  a  corporate  unity  within  tolerably  large 
limits.  This  will  be  very  precarious,  however, 
unless  there  is  at  least  some  presiding  and  adminis- 
trative head.  Mere  Presbyterian  or  Episcopal 
government  is  at  best  only  fit  to  sustain  national 
churches.  It  is  wholly  unfit  and  inadequate  for  the 
preservation  of  unity  in  the  church  catholic.  The 
church  catholic,  as  a  body,  must  have  one  head,  as 
a  kingdom  must  have  a  sovereign.  The  hierarchi- 
cal system,  however  well  organized,  with  its  metro- 
politans, primates,  and  patriarchs,  is  an  arch  with- 
out its  keystone.     It  is   liable   to   the   disaster  of 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  257 

separation,  schism,  divergence  in  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline, mutual  hostility  among  its  constituent  parts. 
As  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  pastors  for 
the  distinct  flocks  of  the  fold  of  Christ,  and  chief 
pastors  over  these,  so  there  must  be  one  supreme 
pastor  over  the  whole  fold,  all  the  shepherds  and  all 
the  sheep.  There  must  be  a  power  to  govern 
bishops,  to  judge  them,  to  punish  them,  as  well  as  a 
power  to  rule  over  priests  and  people.  No  matter 
how  far  the  gradation  of  ranks  among  bishops  is 
carried  ;  if  you  subordinate  suffragans  to  metropoli- 
tans, metropolitans  to  primates,  and  all  primates  to 
three  or  four  patriarchs,  the  patriarchs  themselves 
must  have  a  Supreme  Bishop  over  them  to  govern 
them,  judge  them,  and,  if  necessary,  to  punish  them. 
IHs  a  mere  evasion  to  pretend  that  the  church 
requires  no  visible,  earthly  head,  because  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  its  head,  its  king,  and  its  high-priest.. 
He  is  the  head,  the  ruler,  the  pastor,  the  priest  of 
every  diocese  and  parish.  He  is  the  teacher  of 
every  individual.  He  is  the  Word  of  God.  God  is 
the  Father  of  every  baptized  child.  One  might  as 
well  say,  then,  that  we  need  no  pastors,  no  teachers, 
no  Bible,  no  parents  ;  as  to  say  that  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  needs  no  earthly  sovereign.  Our  Lord  is  a 
king  who  is  invisible  and  inaccessible  to  men  on  the 
earth  in  the  ordinary  and  human  way.  Therefore 
he  cannot  personally  exercise  his  office  as  sovereign  in 


258  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

an  ordinary  and  human  way.  He  can  only  exercise 
it  by  a  vicegerent,  as  an  emperor  governs  a  distant 
and  dependent  kingdom.  The  royalty  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  sovereign  in  the  spiritual  order,  combining 
the  offices  of  prophet,  priest,  and  king  in  one  monar- 
chical supremacy  over  the  church  militant  on  earth, 
requires  that  he  should  have  a  representative,  the 
head  of  the  hierarchy,  from  whom  all  inferior  pre- 
lates derive  their  authority,  and  who  rules  over  all 
the  faithful  through  them,  uniting  all  in  one  through 
his  own  supremacy.  The  prophet  Zacharias  pointed 
out  Joshua,  which  in  Greek  is  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Josedech  the  high-priest,  as  a  type  of  this  sacerdotal 
royalty.  "  Then  take  silver  and  gold,  and  make 
crowns,  and  set  them  upon  the  head  of  Joshua  the 
son  of  Josedech,  the  high-priest ;  and  speak  unto  him, 
saying,  Thus  speaketh  the  Lord  of  hosts,  saying, 
Behold  the  man  whose  name  is  The  Branch  ;  and 
he  shall  grow  up  out  of  his  place,  and  he  shall  build 
the  temple  of  the  Lord :  Even  he  shall  build  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  ;  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory, 
and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne  ;  and  he 
shall  be  a  priest  upon  his  throne.  .  .  .  And 
the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth :  in  that 
day  shall  there  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name 
One."  * 
This  prophecy  most  clearly  designates  the  tem- 

*  Zach.  vi.  11-13,  xiv.  9. 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  259 

poral  reign  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  over  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  his  earthly  kingdom.  Invisibly,  he 
reigns  over  it  from  his  throne  in  the  heavens,  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father.  Visibly,  he  reigns  by  his 
vicegerent,  a  visible  priest  -upon  a  visible  throne, 
ruling  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  Christ, 
as  his  earthly  Vicar.  To  this  sublime  position  he 
raised  St.  Peter,  to  whom  he  communicated  plenary 
powers,  to  be  transmitted  to  his  successors  until  the 
end  of  time.  "And  I  say  also  unto  thee,  that 
thou  art  Peter  (Rock),  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  church."  The  church  is  a  kingdom,  that 
is,  a  state  essentially  constituted  upon  the  monarchi- 
cal principle.  The  monarchy  of  its  rightful,  perpet- 
ual, divinely-appointed  royal  line  is  therefore  its 
foundation.  The  monarchical  right  and  power 
given  to  St.  Peter  occupy  in  the  spiritual  edifice  of 
the  Catholic  Church  the  same  position  which  the 
foundation  has  in  a  material  building.  The  founda- 
tion sustains,  and,  as  it  were,  rules  the  whole  edifice 
— i.e.,  by  its  underlying  strength,  solidity,  and  sup- 
port, it  keeps  the  whole  building  in  order  and  every 
portion  of  it  in  its  proper  place,  thus  making  it  firm 
and  durable,  preventing  its  sinking  and  toppling 
over,  and  thus  losing  its  structural  form  in  a  mass 
of  fragments.  The  foundation  of  a  building  is  the 
principle  of  its  unity,  repose,  order,  and  durability. 
The  Rock  on  which  the  church  is  built  is  that  which 


260  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

bears  the  same  relation  to  the  unity,  order,  and  sta- 
bility of  the  church  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
existence  and  throughout  its  entire  extent.  It  is 
called  a  rock  because  that  is  the  most  solid  and 
immovable  kind  of  foundation  for  a  building,  and 
therefore  fitly  represents  the  unchangeable  and  im- 
movable strength  of  the  spiritual  monarchy  estab- 
lished in  Peter  and  his  successors  by  Our  Lord. 
This  monarchy  must  last,  therefore,  and  be  the  sup- 
port of  the  whole  church,  until  the  end  of  time.  It 
is  more  solid  and  durable  than  even  the  church  it- 
self which  is  indestructible,  because  it  is  the  basis  of 
the  indestructible  durability  of  the  church.  It  is  so* 
in  its  own  nature,  and  by  virtue  of  the  admirable 
constitution  of  its  powers  as  a  central,  spiritual 
sovereignty  surrounded  by  a  numerous,  well-organ- 
ized hierarchy  and  a  vast  Christendom,  whose  po- 
litical order  is  subordinated  to  it,  and  forms  its  im- 
pregnable bulwark.  Its  natural  durability  would  not 
be  sufficient,  however,  without  a  superadded  super- 
natural strength  and  a  special  providence  of  God  to 
preserve  it  from  being  a  subverted  and  overthrown. 
The  name  given  to  the  founder  of  this  spiritual 
monarchy,  Peter,  was  given  to  him  to  denote  that 
his  strength  was  received  from  Christ,  and  that  the 
foundation  of  the  church  in  the  See  of  Peter  was 
made  like  a  base  of  rock  by  an  act  of  his  divine 
power.      His  special,  perpetual  providence  is  prom- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  261 

ised  and  pledged  to  it,  unconditionally  and  in  per- 
petuity, to  preserve  it,  and  by  it  to  preserve  the 
church,  until  the  end  of  the  world.  "  And  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  This  is  a  posi- 
tive promise  of  unbroken,  historical  continuity  to 
that  very  same  organized,  visible  society  of  which 
St.  Peter  was  the  head,  to  the  end  of  time.  There- 
fore it  could  never  cease  to  be  the  true  church,  and 
be  succeeded  by  a  new  one,  or  a  re-formed  and  re- 
constructed one.  It  is  a  promise  of  indefectibility 
in  faith  and  morals,  which  requires  and  involves  not 
only  a  passive  but  an  active  inerrancy  and  infalli- 
bility. It  is  a  promise  of  perpetuity  in  unity  of 
organization,  by  the  continued  supremacy  of  the 
successors  of  Peter  over  the  church,  and  the  subjec- 
tion of  the  hierarchy  and  faithful  of  the  catholic 
church  to  their  authority ;  a  promise  of  victory 
over  false  religion,  heresy,  schism,  infidelity,  sin, 
and  all  wicked  assaults  of  civil  potentates,  dema- 
gogues, or  revolutionary  parties.  All  these  are 
gates  of  hell.  Against  these  gates  the  church,  and 
the  foundation  of  the  church  ;  the  catholic  multi- 
tude of  pastors  and  faithful,  and  the  papacy ;  are 
made  for  ever  impregnable  by  the  almighty  word 
of  Christ.  The  principle  of  the  unity  and  invinci- 
bility of  the  church  is  the  supremacy  of  the  succes- 
sors of  Peter.  For  the  church  is  impregnable  and 
irreversible,   precisely  because    it  is  founded  on   a 


262  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

Rock,  and  that  rock  is  Peter — not  in  his  individual 
person  abstracting  from  his  office,  but  in  his  official 
personality  which  never  dies,  being  transmitted  to 
each  one  of  his  successors.  Everything,  therefore, 
diffusively  proved  about  the  unity,  infallibility, 
perpetuity,  hierarchical  organization,  and  other 
attributes  of  the  church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ, 
is  concentrated  and  summed  up  in  this  one  text  : 
"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it." 

"  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  This  is  another  figure  or  symbol 
of  the  delegation  of  supreme  power  in  the  church  to 
Peter.  Among  the  principal  nations  of  antiquity, 
and  particularly  among  the  Hebrews,  it  was  a  re- 
ceived usage  that  the  tradition  of  the  keys  of  the 
gates  of  a  citadel  or  city  denoted  the  transfer  of 
dominion  over  the  place  itself.  Keys  made  of 
precious  metal  and  richly  ornamented  were  carried 
by  kings,  princes,  and  magistrates  as  a  symbol  of 
their  dignity  and  authority.  In  the  Hebrew  mon- 
archy the  grand  chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  who 
was  the  king's  vicar  and  representative,  carried  a 
large  key  on  his  shoulder  as  his  badge  of  office.  In 
Isaias  (c.  xxii.)  the  Lord  says  of  Eliacim,  the  son 
of  the  high-priest  Helcias :  "  The  key  of  the  house 
of  David   will  I   lay  upon  his  shoulder  ;  so  he  shall 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  263 

open  and  none  shall  shut ;  and  he  shall  shut,  and 
none  shall  open."  This  is  explained  in  the  con- 
text :  "  Go,  get  thee  unto  this  treasurer,  even  unto 
Shebna,  which  is  over  the  house,  and  say,  .  .  . 
I  will  drive  thee  from  thy  station,  .  .  .  and  I 
will  call  my  servant  Eliacim,  .  .  .  and  I  will 
commit  thy  government  into  his  hand  .  .  .  and  he 
shall  be  for  a  glorious  throne  to  his  father's  house." 
In  the  Apocalypse  the  same  emblem  is  used  to 
signify  the  royalty  of  Jesus  Christ :  "  These  things 
saith  he  that  is  holy,  he  that  is  true,  he  that  hath 
the  key  of  David,  he  that  openeth,  and  no  man 
shutteth ;  and  shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth."* 
Our  Lord,  as  the  lineal  descendant  of  David,  was 
the  lawful  King  of  the  Jews,  which  royal  lineage  was 
typical  of  his  inherent  royalty  as  Son  of  God. 
Therefore  the  key  of  David  is  taken  as  an  emblem 
of  his  sovereign  dominion  over  the  world.  When 
Christ  promised  to  give  his  own  keys,  the  keys  of 
his  own  spiritual  kingdom,  the  symbols  of  his  own 
sovereign  power,  to  St.  Peter,  he  must  have  in- 
tended to  delegate  his  sovereignty  to  him,  and  to 
constitute  him  his  vicar,  with  a  line  of  successors  to 
continue  as  long  as  his  earthly  kingdom  should  last. 
"  And  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be 
bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on 
earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  This  is  an  unlimited 
*Rev.  iii.  7. 


264  The  Way  of  Salvation: 

and  universal  power  of  exercising  jurisdiction  as  a 
sovereign  legislator,  judge,  and  ruler,  in  the  name  of 
God,  by  divine  authority,  and  with  the  same  obliga- 
tion over  the  conscience  that  inheres  in  divine  laws. 
Under  a  more  simple  figure,  having  none  of  the 
splendor  and  magnificence  of  royalty  about  it,  but 
yet  equally  expressive  of  the  power  of  the  sove- 
reign pontificate  given  to  Peter,  and  more  pleasing 
to  the  feelings,  because  it  brings  out  more  fully  the 
gentle,  beneficent  nature  of  the  office  of  a  chief 
bishop  and  supreme  pastor ;  Our  Lord,  after  his  re- 
surrection, confided  the  care  of  his  church  and  his 
people  to  his  faithful,  loving  disciple,  the  predes- 
tined bearer  of  his  cross  and  crown.  "  Jesus  saith 
to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me 
more  than  these?  He  saith  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord  ; 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.  He  saith  unto  him, 
Feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  to  him  again  the  second 
time,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  ?  He 
saith  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  sheep.  He 
saith  unto  him  the  third  time,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas, 
lovest  thou  me  ?  Peter  was  grieved  because  he 
said  unto  him  the  third  time,  Lovest  thou  me  ?  And 
he  said  unto  him,  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things  ; 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  Feed  my  sheep."  * 

*  St.  John  xxi.  15-17. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  265 

This  passage,  admirably  translated  as  it  is  in  the 
quaint  old  English  of  King  James's  version,  fails  in 
.one  respect  to  reproduce  the  exact  force  of  the 
original  terms.  There  are  two  Greek  words  in  it, 
which  are  both  rendered  by  the  term  "  feed."  One 
is  "  boske,"  which  signifies  leading  to  pasture  and 
providing  with  food.  The  other  is  "  poimane," 
which  signifies  watch,  protect,  govern.  One  desig- 
nates the  special  office  of  the  shepherd,  which  is  a 
type  of  the  pastoral  office  in  the  church  in  respect 
to  teaching  sound  doctrine  and  morals,  giving  in- 
struction and  exhortation  to  the  faithful,  and  pro- 
viding them  with  sacraments  and  other  wholesome 
spiritual  nutriment.  The  other  designates  that  part 
of  the  pastoral  office  which  belongs  to  discipline, 
government,  and  protection  against  enemies  or  other 
dangers.  In  Homer  and  other  ancient  authors 
kings  are  called  the  shepherds  of  the  people,  and 
poimane  is  used  to  signify  the  exercise  of  the  kingly 
authority.  Feeding  the  flock  of  Christ  includes, 
therefore,  all  that  belongs  to  the  episcopal  office. 
Feeding  the  whole  flock  of  Christ  denotes  the 
exercise  of  episcopal  supervision  over  the  Catholic 
Church.  There  is  a  distinction  made,  also,  between 
the  sheep  and  the  lambs,  indicating  that  those  who 
have  a  care  over  the  lesser  and  weaker  members  of 
the  flock,  and  minister  to  their  nourishment — that  is, 
the  pastors   and  bishops,  as   well  as  the  laity — are 


266  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

committed  to  the  instruction  and  government  of 
Peter  and  his  successors.  He  was  made  pastor  over 
all,  bishops,  clergy,  and  people  ;  all  of  whom,  how- 
ever high  their  ecclesiastical  or  civil  rank  and  dig- 
nity, kings,  primates,  and  patriarchs,  in  relation  to 
the  Supreme  Pastor,  are  sheep  of  his  flock  and  his 
fold.  He  was  made  Bishop  of  bishops,  Bishop  of 
the  Catholic  Church  and  all  its  parts  and  members, 
which  is  thus  made  to  constitute  One  Fold  under 
One  Shepherd. 

On  another  occasion,  before  his  passion,  Our  Lord, 
in  more  express  and  explicit  terms,  committed  the 
apostles  themselves  to  his  care,  immediately  after 
he  had,  in  the  strongest  language  he  ever  used,  desig- 
nated the  high  and  dignified  position  reserved  for 
them  in  conjunction  with  their  chief  in  his  kingdom. 
He  gave  them  first  a  lesson  of  humility,  proposing 
himself  as  an  example  of  that  virtue,  and  cautioning 
them  not  to  imitate  the  pride,  haughtiness,  and 
domineering  spirit  usually  seen  in  kings,  princes, 
and  other  persons  of  exalted  rank.  This  special  re- 
commendation of  humility  shows  that  they  were  to 
be  placed  in  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  worldly 
princes,  in  which  they  would  be  exposed  to  the 
special  temptations  which  beset  the  great  and  power- 
ful. And  he  says  expressly:  "I  appoint  unto  you 
a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  has  appointed  unto  me." 
Afterwards,  speaking  to  Peter  as  the  head  of  the 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  267 

apostolic  band,  "The  Lord  said,  Simon,  Simon, 
behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you  [plural],  that 
he  may  sift  you  as  wheat:  but  I  have  prayed  for 
thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not ;  and  when  thou  are  con- 
verted, strengthen  thy  brethren.""  The  version  of 
St.  Jerome  translates  this  last  clause,  "  et  tu,  ali- 
quando  conversus,  confirma  fratres  tuos,"  which  is 
literally  rendered  by  the  Douay,  "  thou,  being  once 
converted,  confirm  thy  brethren."  Some  commen- 
tators consider  the  Greek  phrase,  norh  ETtiGrpitya?, 
translated  in  the  common  English  version,  u  when 
thou  art  converted,"  as  denoting  the  action  of  turning 
towards  the  apostles  like  one  who  is  addressing  an 
audience.  Let  this  be  as  it  may,  the  sense  is  plain 
of  the  whole  passage  that  the  special  prayer  of 
Christ  for  an  efficacious  act  of  providence  and  grace 
to  preserve  the  apostles  from  the  wiles  and  assaults 
of  Satan  was  directed  upon  the  person  of  their  chief, 
Peter.  Through  the  special  grace  given  to  him,  his 
unfailing  faith  was  to  be  the  principal  means  of  con- 
firming his  brethren.  He  was  specially  charged  to 
do  this,  and  the  words  of  Christ  are  equivalent  to  a 
prophecy  that  he  would  keep  this  charge.  The 
sense  is  analogous  to  that  of  the  other  passage 
in  which  the  firmness  of  the  rock  on  which  the 
church  is  built  is  set  forth  as  the  basis  of  its 
impregnable     resistance     to     the    gates    of     hell. 

*  St.  Luke  xxii.  25-33. 


268  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

Literally,  Peter  and  the  other  apostles  are  person- 
ally the  objects  of  Our  Lord's  warnings  and  pro- 
mises. Everything,  however,  in  the  whole  passage 
and  its  context,  has  a  much  deeper  and  more  strik- 
ing significance,  if  it  is  principally  referred  to  the 
successors  of  Peter  and  the  apostles.  They  have 
had  much  more  of  worldly  glory,  have  been  much 
more  in  danger  of  being  perverted  by  pride,  have 
had  more  need  to  give  heed  to  Our  Lord's  instruc- 
tions respecting  humility,  have  been  much  more 
violently  sifted  by  Satan,  than  were  the  lowly,  per- 
secuted, martyred  apostles ;  who  were,  moreover, 
confirmed  in  grace,  endowed  with  inspiration  and 
other  miraculous  gifts,  and  made  so  almost  super- 
human in  virtue  that  there  was  scarcely  any  need 
of  any  exercise  of  authority,  or  even  of  any  counsel, 
encouragement,  or  exhortation,  on  the  part  of  St. 
Peter.  If  we  understand  the  "  conversion  "  of  St. 
Peter  to  refer  to  his  fall  on  the  occasion  of  the  well- 
known  events  preceding  the  crucifixion  of  Our 
Lord,  we  may  understand  that  Our  Lord  intended 
to  hint  to  him  beforehand,  what  he  afterwards  clear- 
ly foretold,  that  he  would  make  such  a  manifestation 
of  his  own  personal  weakness  as  should  clearly 
prove  all  his  subsequent  firmness  and  fidelity  to  be 
an  effect  of  the  grace  of  God.  The  stability  of  the 
foundation  of  the  church,  the  infallibility  in  faith  of 
the  successors  of  Peter,  is  thus  shown  tobesuperna- 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  269 

tural,  by  the  mournful  exhibition  of  his  own  natural 
weakness  which  the  very  Prince  of  the  Apostles 
left  to  all  future  times  as  a  lesson  of  humility  to  the 
greatest  and  holiest  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  We 
may  apply  the  language  of  Christ  also  to  those 
among  the  successors  of  St.  Peter  who  have  sinned, 
or  have  faltered  through  human  weakness  in  the 
discharge  of  their  high  duties.  Repeatedly,  in  the 
history  of  the  church,  has  it  been  shown  that,  if  the 
welfare,  and  even  the  existence,  of  the  church  de- 
pended solely  on  the  personal  fidelity  of  the  Pope 
to  his  sublime  trust,  both  would  be  in  danger. 
Even  the  papacy  has  seemed  at  times  to  have  been 
preserved,  and  the  rock  of  the  church  to  have  been 
kept  from  being  riven  asunder,  only  by  a  miraculous 
interposition.  In  the  person  of  Peter  Our  Lord 
addresses  all  his  successors,  and  in  the  persons  of 
the  apostles  all  the  bishops,  until  the  end  of  the  world. 
To  the  Popes  he  promises  that  although  some  of  them 
may  be  sinners,  and  others  more  or  less  fail  to  ful 
fil  their  duty,  their  infallibility  shall  never  be  com- 
promised by  any  defection  from  the  faith  ;  and  ad- 
monishes them,  whenever  they  have  yielded,  like 
Peter,  to  human  fear,  and  failed  to  face  the  powers 
of  earth  and  hell  ranged  in  ferocious  array  against 
Christ  with  due  firmness  and  courage,  like  Peter  to 
repent  and  turn  back  with  renewed  heroism,  to  lead 
on  the  champions  of  the  faith  and  law  of  God  to  vie- 


270  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tory.  The  bishops,  and,  by  consequence,  their  clergy 
and  people  also,  are  directed  toward  the  indefectible, 
infallible  faith  of  the  successors  to  Peter's  suprem- 
acy for  confirmation  in  their  own  faith,  when  Satan 
endeavors  to  sift  them  as  wheat — that  is,  when 
schism,  heresy,  and  apostasy  sift  out  faithless 
bishops,  priests,  and  people  from  the  mass  of  the 
faithful  children  of  the  true  church. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  have  some  general  know- 
ledge of  the  history  of  Christendom  to  perceive 
that  Our  Lord  gave  in  a  few  words  its  epitome  in 
his  address  to  the  apostles  and  Peter  which  we  are 
now  considering.  This  is  true  in  general  of  all 
church  history,  but  especially  of  its  most  momentous 
and  critical  epochs.  The  unfailing  faith  of  the  Suc- 
cessors of  Peter,  who  confirm  their  brethren  in  the 
episcopate  in  the  wTarfare  against  heresy  and  the 
other  hostile  powers  arrayed  against  them,  and, 
notwithstanding  grievous  defections  among  both 
the  hierarchy  and  the  people,  preserve  the  unity 
of  the  church,  and  triumph  successively  over 
all  its  enemies,  is  the  one  grand,  salient  ob- 
ject which  strikes  our  view.  We  see  the  fulfil- 
ment of  Our  Lord's  prediction  and  of  his 
prayer  in  the  fact  and  the  event,  and,  therefore, 
we  must  conclude  that  he  had  before  his  eye  as 
future  that  which  we  see  as  past  and  present,  and 
that  this  was  the  object  of  his  discourse.     YVe  may 


The  Way  of  Salvation,  2  7 1 

say  the  same  of  all  that  Our  Lord,  his  prophets,  and 
his  apostles  have  declared  or  foretold  concerning  the 
church,  its  organization,  its  constitution,  its  attri- 
butes, hierarchy,  government,  extension,  glory,  and 
triumph.  It  is  verified  and  fulfilled  most  evidently 
and  completely  in  the  later  and  more  developed 
periods  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  the  earth. 
When  an  architect  exhibits  the  plan  and  elevation  of 
a  vast,  magnificent  cathedral,  it  is  a  representation 
of  the  building  in  its  finished  state.  We  do  not 
look  at  the  building  when  its  foundations  are  just 
laid,  or  its  walls  half-built,  to  see  the  realization 
of  the  grand  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  architect. 
We  look  at  the  finished  structure.  If  it  corresponds 
to  the  drawings  made  beforehand,  we  ascribe  the 
work  to  the  architect  as  its  author,  and  we  judge 
that  the  overseers  and  artisans  employed  in  build- 
ing have  faithfully  executed  his  design.  Just  so  in 
the  present  case.  The  Holy  Scriptures  give  us 
plans  and  pictures  of  the  grand  temple  of  God,  the 
Catholic  Church.  The  scanty  historical  records  of 
inspired  and  uninspired  writers  respecting  the  first 
beginnings  of  Christianity  give  us  only  partial 
glimpses  of  its  inchoate  state,  when  the  ground  was 
surveyed  and  cleared,  the  materials  collected,  the 
foundations  laid,  the  building  commenced.  A  care- 
ful inspection  will  show  the  fundamental  principles 
of   faith,  worship,   order,  and  government,  the  dis- 


272  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tinctive  and  ruling  idea,  the  outlines  of  the  plan,  as 
prescribed  by  the  divine  Architect  and  Founder  of 
the  church.  But  we  must  look  to  the  period  of  the 
greatest  extension,  power,  and  splendor  of  the 
church,  in  order  to  behold  the  actual  realization  of 
the  divine  plan  in  its  completeness.  A  comparison 
of  the  real,  actual  church  with  the  plan  of  it  laid 
down  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  showing  an  obvious, 
striking  agreement  between  the  two,  is  the  quickest 
and  clearest  exhibition  of  the  identity  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  of  history  and  of  the  present  time  with 
the  church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ  and  builded'by 
the  apostles  and  their  successors  in  the  primitive 
ages. 

I  have  already  shown  from  the  prophets,  and' from 
the  apostles  and  evangelists,  partly  speaking  as  they 
were  personally  taught  by  the  Son  of  God,  and 
reciting  his  own  words,  and  partly  giving  utterance 
to  what  he  taught  them  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  what 
the  principles,  attributes,  and  outward  notes  of  the 
true  church  of  God,  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on 
earth,  really  are,  as  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
This  has  been  done  with  the  intention  of  pointing 
out  to  the  sincere  believer  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
the  true  Way  of  Salvation  in  the  true  church.  I 
have  nothing  more  to  do  now  than  to  point  to  the 
grand,  historical,  Catholic  Church,  of  Nice,  Chalce- 
don,  Florence,  Trent,  and  the  Vatican  ;  the  church 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  273 

now  and  always  united  as  a  well-organized  body 
politic  and  kingdom  under  the  supremacy  of 
the  Successor  of  Peter,  and  to  say  :  See  there  !  the 
kingdom  of  God  foretold  by  Isaias,  founded  by 
Jesus  Christ  on  the  Rock  of  Peter,  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  have  never  prevailed,  and  shall 
never  prevail.  In  the  great  church  of  the  Fathers 
and  Councils,  the  church  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  cen- 
turies ;  in  the  church  of  the  thirteenth  century  and 
the  whole  mediaeval  period  ;  and  in  no  other,  can  we 
find  any  adequate  fulfilment  of  the  superb  and  glow- 
ing descriptions  of  the  kingdom  of  God  given  by 
Isaias  and  the  other  prophets.  I  have  known  plain 
people,  brought  up  Presbyterians  in  the  remote  parts 
of  New  England,  to  be  struck  with  this  obvious 
parallel,  merely  by  reading  attentively  the  prophets 
and  some  popular  histories  written  in  English.  The 
great  Christendom,  with  its  wonderful  civilization 
and  political  order,  proceeding  from,  and  governed 
by,  the  spiritual  order,  under  the  universal  and  be- 
neficent monarchy  of  the  Pope,  which  arose  on  the 
ruins  of  the  great  precedent  empires,  and  is  just  now 
going  to  pieces,  is  the  only  fact  which  presents  even 
an  appearance  of  a  reign  of  Christ  and  the  saints 
on  the  earth.  What  can  the  Rock  of  Peter  be,  ex- 
cept the  Roman  Church  ?  The  whole  history  of 
that  church,  and  of  the  entire  catholic  communion 
under  its  supremacy,  is  an  illustration  and  fulfilment 


274  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

of  the  words  of  Christ :  "  On  this  Rock  I  will  build 
my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it."  Its  history  since  the  great  churches  of 
the  East  finally  went  down  and  the  great  apostasy 
in  the  West  took  place,  and  its  present  attitude  since 
the  Council  of  the  Vatican  was  assembled,  are  only 
more  palpable  and  wonderful  illustrations  of  the 
same  divine  prophecy.  Let  the  devout  adorer  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  believes  that  his  word  is  the  word 
of  God,  attentively  consider  that  word  which  he 
spoke  to  Peter,  and  look  upon  the  church  which  is 
at  this  day  governed  by  the  Successor  of  Peter,  and 
ask  his  conscience  if  he  can  refuse  to  acknowledge 
the  holy,  catholic,  apostolic,  Roman  Church  as  the 
one,  true  church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  its 
supreme  head  as  his  Vicar. 

The  obligation  of  obedience  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  the  necessity  of  being  in  her  communion  and 
receiving  the  sacraments  from  her  lawful  ministers, 
in  order  to  be  justified  and  saved,  follow  from  the 
simple  fact  that  she  is  the  true  and  only  church  es- 
tablished by  Jesus  Christ.  This  ought  to  be  so  plain 
to  any  one  who  has  followed  the  steps  of  my  argument 
as  to  require  no  further  proof,  nor  even  one  word  of 
remark.  Nevertheless,  those  who  are  brought  up 
under  the  influence  of  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  doc- 
trines find  it  very  hard  to  see  into  the  vital  impor- 
tance of  the  question  of  the  true  church,  or  to  un- 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  275 

derstancl  the  obligation  and  necessity  of  being  a 
member  of  that  church  when  it  is  once  ascertained. 
The  reason  is  that  they  have  always  believed  that 
justification  and  salvation  are  purely  individual 
matters  between  the  soul  of  each  one  and  God, 
which  are  settled  without  the  mediation  of  any 
church,  or  priest,  or  any  kind  of  human  intervention. 
The  visible  church  becomes  therefore,  for  them,  only 
a  useful  institution  for  keeping  up  common  worship, 
providing  for  public  instruction,  carrying  on  bene- 
volent works,  and  in  general  promoting  religious 
and  moral  improvement.  Quite  naturally,  having 
this  notion  of  the  church,  they  say  that  they  can- 
not see  how  the  particular  form  of  church  gov- 
ernment, the  mode  of  ordination,  or  the  ceremo- 
nies of  worship  can  be  of  essential  and  vital 
importance  to  salvation.  They  may  admit  the 
importance  of  harmony,  co-operation,  and  union 
in  a  general  sense  among  Christians.  But  they  do 
not  admit  that  it  is  necessary  for  all  who  are  true 
Christians  to  be  members  of  one  true  church  which 
is  exclusive  in  its  organization.  They  speak  about 
different  ways  leading  to  the  same  term,  varieties 
of  form  which  do  not  belong  to  the  essence  of  reli- 
gion, and  in  many  other  ways  show  that  they  look 
on  the  church  and  all  else  that  is  visible  and  incor- 
porate in  Christianity  as  something  merely  exterior 
and  indifferent,  having  no  vital  and  essential  rela- 


276  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

tion  to  the  interior  and  spiritual  part  For  this 
class  of  persons  the  arguments  which  are  sufficient 
to  a  high-churchman  are  wholly  deficient  and  ineffi- 
cacious. These  arguments  usually  presuppose  an 
idea  which  is  wanting  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  sects.  They  are  constructed  with  a  view  to 
prove  from  Scripture  and  history  the  external  con- 
stitution of  the  church.  The  question  is  about  the 
orders  of  the  hierarchy,  the  authority  of  bishops, 
councils,  the  Roman  primacy,  etc.,  just  as  in  civil 
matters  the  origin  and  nature  of  imperial,  royal, 
aristocratic,  and  republican  governments  are  dis- 
cussed. The  external  side  of  the  church,  as  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  its  power  and  glory, 
its  humanizing  and  civilizing  influences,  its  splendor 
of  science  and  art,  the  wisdom  of  its  jurisprudence, 
and  other  things  similar  to  these,  are  made  promi- 
nent. These  are  all  very  important  and  interesting 
matters.  Yet  there  are  many  Protestants  in  these 
later  times  who  can  more  or  less  appreciate  and  ad- 
mire them,  make  a  very  just  estimate  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  in  the  past  ages,  and  even  look  forward 
to  some  new  epoch  in  which  all  Christians  will  in 
some  way  come  together  and  carry  on  the  work  of 
the  past  through  the  future,  without  ever  thinking 
of  really  embracing  the  Catholic  faith  and  commu- 
nion.    Such   a   man    was    Leibnitz,    and   such    are 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  277 

Guizot  and  Leo  now,*  besides  a  multitude  of 
others,  who  stand  around  the  walls  of  the  city  of 
God,  admire  them,  and  yet  think  they  are  quite 
safe  in  their  own  little  villages  where  they  were 
born  and  brought  up. 

The  serious  and  pious  reader  of  these  pages  will 
therefore  please  to  reflect  that  I  have  throughout 
only  so  far  touched  on  the  outward  part  of  the 
church  as  the  exigency  of  my  great  topic  required, 
which  was  the  way  of  interior  justification  and  eter- 
nal salvation  in  and  through  the  soul  of  the  church, 
its  spiritual  and  principal  part,  of  which  the  visible 
hierarchy  and  sacraments  are  the  organs  and  instru- 
ments. Let  him  reflect  on  the  whole  course  of 
thought  and  argument  which  I  have  pursued,  and  he 
will  see  that  I  have  refuted  the  primary  falsehood  of 
Luther  and  Calvin,  that  each  man  is  justified  imme- 
diately and  at  once  by  a  private  and  personal  rela- 
tion which  is  established  between  himself  and  Christ. 
I  have  proved  that  the  relation  between  Christ  and 
men,  as  Redeemer  and  redeemed,  is  generic,  not  in- 
dividual ;  and  is  initial  only,  not  complete,  until 
certain  conditions  have  been  verified.  I  have  also 
proved  that  this  relation,  generic  in  its  inchoate, 
initial  state,  is  generic  in  its  actual  and  complete 
form — that  is,  that  it  produces  an  organic  society, 
superseding  the  one  first  instituted,  into  which  the  in- 
*  This  was  written  before  the  death  of  Guizot. 


278  The    Way  of  Salvation. 

dividual  members  are  introduced  by  regeneration.  I 
have  proved  that  faith  is  the  first  personal  condition 
and  prerequisite  for  regeneration,  and  that  this  faith 
presupposes  an  official,  authoritative,  and  infallible 
teaching  of  divine  truths  by  the  hierarchy  of  the 
church  ;  also,  that  obedience  to  the  law  of  God, 
as  promulgated,  explained,  and  applied  by  the  same 
authority,  is  another  obligatory  condition  of  obtain- 
ing, preserving,  and  increasing  justification  ;  that 
one  part  of  this  law  requires  that  the  regenerate 
man,  having  received  regeneration  through  the  sa- 
crament of  baptism,  should  obtain  remission  of  sin 
and  other  graces  through  sacraments  lawfully  ad- 
ministered in  the  church.  The  conditions  of  justi- 
fication, therefore,  absolutely  require  that  one 
should  obey  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  and  the 
bishops  whose  jurisdiction  is  derived  from  his  su- 
preme power.  The  very  first  condition  is  faith,  and 
faith  demands  a  submission  of  the  mind  and  will  to 
all  that  the  church  commands,  in  the  name  of  God, 
the  faithful  to  believe.  The  church  teaches  and 
commands  through  her  hierarchy.  The  head  of  the 
hierarchy  is  the  Pope,  the  supreme  teacher  and 
lawgiver  who  succeeds  to  the  supremacy  given  by 
Christ  to  Peter.  The  catechumen  must  therefore 
learn  from  him,  through  his  own  particular  instruc- 
tor,   what   are    the    things    necessary    to    salvation. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  279 

When  Christ  gave  to  Peter  and  his  successors  su- 
preme power  to  teach  and  command,  he  imposed 
on  all  who  know  that  this  power  was  given  a  cor- 
responding obligation  to  believe  and  obey.  The 
Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  teaches  the  catechumen  at  the 
very  outset  that  he  must .  receive  baptism  from  no 
other  person  but  a  priest  authorized  by  him,  under 
the  penalty  of  grievous  sin  and  sacrilege.  By  the  very 
fact  of  baptism  he  becomes  the  subject  of  the  lawful 
pastors  who  are  authorized  by  the  Supreme  Pastor, 
and  much  more  of  the  Supreme  Pastor  himself. 
This  subjection  is  perpetual,  and  revolt  from  it 
separates  the  rebel  from  the  church.  Once  bap- 
tized, he  must  keep  the  precepts  of  the  church,  and 
receive  the  sacraments  from  her  lawful  and  autho- 
rized ministers.  If  he  communicates  with  heretics 
and  schismatics,  he  incurs  at  once  the  guilt  of  mortal 
sin,  the  penalty  of  excommunication,  and  thereby 
exclusion  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  whose  keys 
are  in  the  hand  of  the  Successor  of  St.  Peter.  It 
does  not  alter  the  case  at  all  if  the  pastors  whom  he 
follows  have  received  personally,  or  through  their 
predecessors,  priestly  or  episcopal  ordination  from 
Catholic  bishops.  Their  assemblies,  their  worship, 
their  administration  of  sacraments,  are  unlawful 
and  sacrilegious.  The  Vicar  of  Christ  is  the  su- 
preme judge,  whose  judgments  are  ratified  in  hea- 
ven.    It  is  for  him  to  decide  which  are  the  lawful 


2  So  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

bishops,  and  which  particular  churches  are  parts  of 
\  the  true  Catholic  Church.  He  condemns  all  here- 
tics and  schismatics,  all  who  are  not  of  the  holy, 
catholic,  apostolic,  Roman  Church,  whether  they 
have  valid  orders  or  not.  It  is,  therefore,  obligatory 
and  necessary  for  the  catechumen  who  knows  which 
the  true  church  is,  not  only  to  receive  baptism,  but  to 
receive  it  from  a  Catholic  priest ;  to  receive,  likewise, 
instruction,  remission  of  sins  in  the  sacrament  of 
penance,  holy  communion,  and  the  other  sacra- 
ments, not  only  from  one  who  is  really  a  priest  or 
bishop,  but  from  one  who  has  lawful  jurisdiction  in 
the  Catholic  Church. 

If  a  person  has  received  baptism,  either  with  or 
without  any  fault  of  his  own,  from  a  minister  who  is 
not  authorized  by  the  church,  and  if  he  is  a  member 
of  a  sect,  whether  it  be  a  schismatical  body  like  the 
so-called  Greek  Church,  or  any  of  the  heretical  sects 
of  Protestantism,  he  is,  nevertheless,  by  his  baptism 
a  lawful  subject  of  the  Catholic  Church.  If  he  be  in- 
nocent of  any  wilful  fault  in  the  matter,  he  is  a  lamb 
of  the  flock  committed  by  Christ  to  Peter,  astray 
from  the  true  fold.  When  he  finds  out  his  error,  he  is 
bound  to  return  immediately  to  his  true  and  lawful 
pastor.  If  he  has  strayed  away  by  his  own  fault,  or 
if  he  persists  in  staying  out  after  he  has  discovered 
his  error,  he  is  a  rebel,  and  is  bound  to  repent  and 
return  to  obedience,  as  the  only  condition  of  salva- 


The    Way  of  Salvation.  281 

lion.  All  the  baptized  are  already  the  subjects  of 
the  Vicar  of  Christ,  and  all  the  unbaptized  are 
bound  to  receive  baptism  and  become  his  subjects. 
This  follows  necessarily  from  what  I  have  proved  ; 
that  Christ  has  established  his  church  under  the 
form  of  a  visible  kingdom  subject  to  the  supremacy 
of  St.  Peter  and  his  successors,  as  the  Way  of  Salva- 
tion, the  King's  Highway  leading  to  heaven  ;  and 
has  commanded  all  mankind  to  enter  into  it,  and  to 
walk  in  it  to  everlasting  life. 

There  are  some  persons  who  put  aside  all  the  evi- 
dence of  the  divine  authority  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  close  their  ears  to  all  persuasion  to 
obey  the  commandment  of  Christ  by  entering  into 
his  true  fold,  in  some  such  way  as  the  following. 
They  say  :  "  My  mother  was  a  good,  holy  woman  ; 
therefore  the  religion  in  which  she  lived  and  died 
is  good  enough  for  me."  This  might  be  a  sensible 
reason  for  one  who  could  not  find  anything  better 
or  more  certain  to  go  by.  But  it  is  utterly  senseless 
and  absurd  when  it  is  used  as  an  argument  where- 
with to  break  the  force  of  evidence  and  shut  out 
the  light  of  divine  truth.  Do  such  persons  believe 
that  there  is  any  revealed  doctrine  and  any  law 
which  all  men  are  bound  to  believe  and  obey,  when 
they  know  them  ?  Do  they  think  that  they  alone 
have  had  good  mothers  ?  Such  reasoning  would 
prevent  every  person  whose  parents  were  virtuous, 


282  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

or  who  saw  that  there  were  virtuous  and  good  people 
in  the  religion  he  had  been  bred  up  in,  from  admit- 
ting any  evidence,  however  conclusive,  that  the  re- 
ligion of  his  fathers  is  defective  or  erroneous.  It 
seems  ridiculous  to  take  serious  notice  of  such  a 
frivolous  and  absurd  notion.  Yet  I  have  heard 
it  gravely  proposed,  not  only  by  simple  and  unedu- 
cated people,  but  by  the  most  intelligent  persons. 
Therefore  it  is  that  I  take  the  trouble  to  answer  it 
seriously.  Surely,  my  dear  friend,  you  must  see 
that  it  is  foolish  and  impious  for  you  to  make  any 
reply  or  objection  whatever  to  a  commandment  of 
your  Sovereign  Lord,  Jesus  Christ.  Who  are  you, 
and  who  are  your  parents,  or  all  those  men  who 
seem  to  you  most  worthy  of  respect  and  honor,  in 
comparison  with  Him  ?  Will  you  set  their  opinions 
against  his  declaration,  or  their  seeming  goodness 
against  his  sanctity,  and  follow  their  footsteps  as 
more  secure  marks  of  the  true  way  than  the  direc- 
tions which  he  has  given  you  ?  The  truth  of  the 
divine  revelation  is  absolutely  certain  ;  and  to  one 
who  has  divine  faith  it  is  above  any  natural  truth 
whatever,  excluding  all  fear  or  possibility  of  error,  and 
resting  on  the  veracity  of  God  himself.  The  opin- 
ion which  one  may  have  of  the  holiness  and  the  eter- 
nal salvation  of  particular  persons  is  not  by  any  means 
so  certain.  Let  us  suppose,  however,  that  those 
parents  or  other  persons  whose  memory  you  revere 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  283 

so  much  were  really  holy  and  are  now  in  heaven. 
If  they  were  holy,  they  would  have  submitted  to 
the  authority  of  the  true  church,  in  case  it  had  been 
sufficiently  proposed  to  them,  if  they  had  been  true 
to  the  ruling  principle  of  their  lives;  that  is,  to  obey 
God  when  his  will  was  made  known  to  them.  If 
they  are  in  heaven,  they  know  that  the  Catholic 
Church  is  the  true  church,  they  are  members  of  it 
in  the  triumphant  state  of  glory;  and  if  they  were 
allowed  to  speak  to  you,  they  would  tell  you  to 
become  members  of  the  same  church  militant  on 
earth.  Because  certain  persons  have  been  all  their 
lives  outside  of  the  visible  communion  of  the  true 
church  without  any  fault  of  their  own,  it  does  not 
follow  that  you  can  remain  outside  without  fault. 
Some  persons  are  ignorant  of  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  or  even  of  his  existence.  They  are,  there- 
fore, not  to  blame  for  their  want  of  explicit  faith  in 
him.  But  if  you  do  not  believe  in  him  and  in  his 
words,  you  are  guilty  of  sin,  and  will  be  condemned 
to  eternal  punishment,  unless  you  repent  and  be- 
♦  lieve.  Supposing  that  some  persons  who  have 
never  had  explicit  faith  in  the  Catholic  Church,  or 
made  explicit  profession  of  obedience  to  her  author- 
ity, may  have  been  saved  by  an  implicit  faith  and 
by  obedience  to  that  part  of  the  divine  law  which 
was  known  to  them,  yet  this  does  not  help  those 
who  refuse  to  believe  and  obey  the  church  by  their 


284  The   Way  of  Salvation. 

own  wilfulness.  Whoever  is  saved  is  saved  by  faith 
and  the  love  of  God,  and  is  united  to  the  soul  of 
the  church  by  sanctifying  grace.  But  no  one  can 
have  faith  who  refuses  to  believe  any  one  doctrine 
of  the  faith  which  is  sufficiently  proposed  to  him. 
No  one  can  have  the  love  of  God  who  disobeys  one 
of  his  commandments  which  has  been  made  known 
to  him.  No  one  can  receive  sanctifying  grace 
through  any  other  channel  than  the  sacrament  of 
baptism  lawfully  administered  in  the  church ;  or 
preserve  it  unless  he  receives  the  other  sacraments, 
keeps  the  precepts  of  the  church,  and  remains  in  her 
communion  as  a  docile  and  obedient  child  ;  if  he 
knows  which  is  the  true  church,  and  who  is  the  true 
pastor  commissioned  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  has  the 
opportunity  and  the  ability  to  approach  those 
sacraments  which  Christ  has  instituted  as  the  only 
ordinary  means  of  grace  and  salvation.  Supposing, 
therefore,  that  you  have  dear  friends  in  heaven, 
who  have  been  saved  by  extraordinary  grace  ;  your 
only  hope  of  rejoining  them  hereafter  is  bound  to 
the  condition  that  you  use  faithfully  the  ordinary 
and  appointed  means  which  God  has  placed  in  the 
one,  true  church.  Perhaps  the  mother  of  St. 
Paul  was  saved  and  met  him  in  heaven,  though 
it  is  most  likely  that  she  never  explicitly  believed 
in  Jesus  as  the  true  Messias  or  received  the  sacra- 
ment   of    baptism.       Yet     St.     Paul   would    have 


The    Way  of  Salvation,  285 

been  damned  if  he  had  not  believed  and  been  bap- 
tized. 

The  same  objection,  in  another  form,  is  only  re- 
peated when  persons  fall  back  on  their  own  experi- 
ence. They  have  found  what  their  souls  need,  they 
say,  in  the  religion  they  have  been  brought  up  in. 
They  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  find  comfort  in  the 
Bible  and  in  prayer,  profit  in  sermons  and  spiritual 
books,  have  a  conscience  at  rest  and  a  hope  of  being 
saved.  What  more  do  they  need  or  can  they  wish 
for  ?  Why  is  it  so  necessary  to  be  received  into  an- 
other church,  even  if  it  be  a  grand  and  admirable 
church,  quite  sufficient  for  those  who  are  bred  up  in 
it  or  who  prefer  to  join  it  ?  The  answer  is  nearly 
the  same  as  the  one  just  given.  Granted,  that  you 
have  heretofore  believed  with  sincerity  what  you 
have  been  taught,  that  you  have  lived  up  to  your 
light,  that  you  have  received  many  graces  ;  what 
then  ?  Is  the  evidence  I  have  given  of  the  exclu- 
sive right  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  your  obedience 
conclusive  ?  If  it  is — and  it  is,  most  assuredly — you 
have  received  now  a  new  light,  and  incurred  a  new 
obligation.  If  Our  Lord  should  personally  appear 
to  you,  and  command  you  to  believe  all  the  church 
teaches  and  fulfil  all  she  commands,  as  the  indispen- 
sable condition  of  salvation,  would  you  dare  to  hesi- 
tate and  make  objections  on  the  ground  I  have 
mentioned  ?  Jesus  Christ  speaks  to  you  from  heaven 


286  The  Way  of  Salvation, 

through  his  word,  through  his  church,  through  the 
bishops  and  the  Supreme  Pastor  of  the  church,  the 
successors  of  the  apostles  and  St.  Peter.  "  See  that 
you  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.  For  if  they  es- 
caped not  who  refused  him  that  spake  on  earth, 
much  more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  turn  aivay  from 
him  that  speaketh  from  heaven."  *  "  He  who  saith 
that  he  knovveth  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  command- 
ments, is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him."  f  If 
the  truth  has  been  in  you  heretofore,  and  even  if  you 
have  lived  without  any  grievous  sin  until  now,  the 
truth  will  depart  from  you,  you  will  become  false, 
and  you  will  incur  the  guilt  of  mortal  sin,  whose 
penalty  is  eternal  condemnation,  unless  you  obey 
the  truth  now  presented  to  you,  and  proved  by  the 
Scripture  which  you  profess  to  revere.  Do  you  not 
know  that  Our  Lord  has  commanded  you  to  hear 
and  obey  those  whom  he  has  sent,  as  himself;  that 
he  has  said  that  those  who  hear  them  hear  him,  and 
those  who  despise  them  despise  him  and  the  Father 
who  sent  him  ?  I  have  proved  to  you  that  the  Ca- 
tholic bishops  are  sent  by  Christ ;  that  the  Successor 
of  St.  Peter  is  the  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth  ;  that 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  supreme 
power  of  teaching  and  ruling  are  in  his  hands. 
Therefore,  if  you  refuse  to  believe  his  teaching  and 
obey  his  authority,  and  to  come  into  his  fold  under 

*  Hebrews  xii.  25.  J    r  Epistle  St.  John  ii.  4. 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  287 

the  pastors  whom  he  has  appointed,  you  reject,  de- 
spise, and  disobey  Christ  and  God. 

As  for  those  who  say  right  out  that  all  religions 
are  alike,  that  all  persons  cannot  have  the  same  re- 
ligion, that  it  is  no  matter  what  a  person  believes,  I 
cannot,  stop,  at  present,  to  reason  with  them.  It  is 
incredible  that  sensible  persons  can  utter  such  non- 
sense. Plainly,  they  can  make  no  pretence  of  being 
Christians  at  all.  It  is  therefore  useless  to  prove  to 
them  what  true  Christianity  is,  and  what  Christ 
teaches  and  commands.  They  are  sceptics,  like 
Pontius  Pilate,  and  repeat  his  sceptical  question, 
"  What  is  truth  ?  "  Such  persons  need  a  different 
treatment  from  that  which  is  suitable  for  the  class 
of  readers  I  have  at  present  in  view.  For  these,  it 
is  sufficient  to  show  what  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach, 
or  what  may  be  proved  by  them,  if  they  are  consis- 
tent and  upright  in  their  profession  of  belief  in.them. 
It  is  this  perfect  sincerity  and  uprightness  which  is 
chiefly  requisite,  in  order  that  one  who  has  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Catholic  religion  proposed  to  him  may 
be  convinced  by  it,  and  act  on  his  conviction.  Fidel- 
ity to  the  light  of  reason,  to  the  glimmerings  of 
divine  illumination,  to  the  voice  of  conscience  ; 
earnestness  in  obeying  the  will  of  God  and  seeking 
for  the  salvation  of  the  soul  ;  are  the  great  requisites 
for  obtaining  the  full  and  clear  light  of  faith  and  the 
efficacious  grace  which  brings  the  enquirer  into  the 


288  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

royal  road  of  salvation.  Unhappily,  they  are  too 
often  wanting.  Reason  is  silenced,  the  inspirations 
of  grace  are  resisted,  conscience  is  stifled,  because 
prejudice,  old  habits  and  associations,  worldly  in- 
terests, human  affections,  moral  cowardice,  the  fear 
of  making  sacrifices,  are  arrayed  against  them,  and 
bind  the  captive  soul  in  a  willing  bondage  under  the 
accustomed  dominion  of  its  old  errors.  Therefore 
many  who  are  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God 
never  enter  into  it.  Converts  to  the  Catholic 
Church  have  been  numerous  in  these  latter  days, 
but  the  number  of  those  who  have  felt  the. first  mo- 
tions of  the  grace  of  conversion,  and  have  drawn 
back,  is  much  greater.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  their 
great  obstacle  has  not  been  a  want  of  sufficient  light 
to  see  the  truth,  or  a  lack  of  evidence  to  convince 
the  intellect,  but  a  want  of  sincerity  and  moral 
courage  to  rise  up,  leave  all  worldly  interests  behind 
them,  and  follow  Christ  in  the  way  of  the  cross. 
The  strength  and  durability  of  Protestantism,  at  the 
present  time,  do  not  so  much  consist  in  the  posi- 
tive conviction  of  its  adherents  that  their  particular 
sects  possess  the  pure  and  perfect  doctrines  and  in- 
stitutions of  the  primitive  and  apostolic  Christian- 
ity, as  in  the  political  and  social  interests  and  tem- 
poral goods  with  which  it  is  interwoven.  It  has 
made  to  itself  a  domain  and  kingdom  after  the 
semblance    of   the    Catholic    Church.      It    has    its 


The  Way  of  Salvation.  289 

antiquity,  its  traditions,  its  heroes,  historical  as- 
sociations, universities,  literature,  sacred  burial- 
places,  great  benevolent  institutions,  vast  wealth, 
and  a  multitude  of  places  where  studious  and 
quiet  men  find  a  pleasant  employment  and  a 
respectable  living.  Wherever  it  is  dominant,  those 
who  embrace  the  Catholic  faith  are  obliged  to 
sever  their  connection  more  or  less  with  their  native 
world,  and  migrate  to  another  and  a  strange 
sphere.  For  many,  and  especially  for  the  married 
Protestant  clergy,  the  profession  of  the  Catholic 
faith  involves  great  sacrifices.  Besides  those  which 
are  necessary  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  there 
are  many  others  to  which  persons  who  desire  to  be- 
come Catholics  are  subjected  by  the  persecution  of 
their  former  associates  in  religion,  and  of  those 
with  whom  they  are  socially  connected.  Converts 
have  been  ostracized  from  their  families  and  society, 
calumniated,  disinherited,  driven  from  their  employ- 
ments, treated  as  disgraced  and  criminal  persons, 
forcibly  prevented  from  practising  their  religion, 
driven  into  poverty,  and  otherwise  made  the  victims 
of  social  and  domestic  tyranny  ;  in  spite  of  the  pre- 
tence which  Protestants  make  of  respecting  liberty 
of  conscience.  And  numbers  of  others  who  were 
convinced  that  they  ought  to  become  Catholics, 
and  who  wished  to  do  so,  have  been  prevented  by 
unjust  and  violent  means,  by  threats,  or  by  a  well- 


290  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

grounded  fear  of  suffering  ill-treatment,  from  obey- 
ing the  voice  of  their  conscience.  Those  who  are 
separated  from  the  Catholic  Church  are  suffering 
for  the  sins  of  their  forefathers.  They  abandoned 
the  glorious  and  peaceful  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
wandered  away  to  found  new  churches  after  the 
devices  of  their  own  hearts.  The  return  is  therefore 
difficult  and  painful  for  their  descendants,  like  the 
return  of  the  children  of  Israel  to  Chanaan  after  their 
captivity. 

I  beg  leave  to  represent  to  all  the  intelligent  and 
serious  Protestants  who  read  these  pages  that,  hard 
as  it  is  for  them  to  give  up  all  those  things  con- 
nected with  their  religion  which  are  so  dear  to 
them,  it  is  better  that  they  should  do  so  voluntarily, 
while  they  have  time  to  save  what  is  left  to  them  of 
their  ancient  Catholic  heritage.  The  churches  of 
Protestantism  are  built  on  the  sand,  and  their  un- 
stable foundations  are  rapidly  being  undermined  and 
washed  away  by  the  encroaching  tide  of  infidelity 
and  impiety.  The  Bible  is  fast  losing  the  authority 
which  belongs  to  it,  but  which  cannot  stand  long 
without  the  support  of  the  church.  The  remnants 
of  the  Catholic  creed  are  fast  dissolving,  and  the 
ancient  Christian  laws  of  morality  loosening  their 
hold.  Protestant  orthodoxy  is  crumbling  to  pieces* 
before  our  eyes,  and  the  descendants  of  those  who 
were  the  most  zealous  workmen  in  building  and  ex- 


The  I Vay  of  Salvation.  291 

tending  it  are  the  most  active  agents  in  the  work  of 
tearing  down  the  structure  of  their  fathers.  The 
men  of  the  present  generation  may  console  them- 
selves with  the  hope  that  it  will  outlast  their  time. 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  majority  of  them  will  do 
so,  and.  will  remain  where  they  are ;  unless  some 
special  intervention  of  God  shall  speedily  open  their 
eyes  to  see,  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  only  re- 
fuge of  salvation,  for  society  in  general,  and  for  every 
individual  who  wishes  to  escape  the  destroying  flood 
of  impiety.  For  the  coming  generation,  the  alter- 
native of  the  Catholic  faith  or  no  religion  is  certain, 
imperative,  and  inevitable.  Those  for  whom  I  am 
chiefly  writing  profess  to  obey  the  will  of  God  be- 
fore all  other  things,  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Divine  Saviour  of  men,  and  to  follow  his 
teachings  and  precepts.  Let  them  reflect  on  his 
words  and  on  the  examples  of  the  apostles  and 
primitive  Christians.  "  Seek  ye,  therefore,  first  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness."  "  He  that 
loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy 
of  me  :  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.  And  he  that  taketh 
not  up  his  cross,  and  followeth  after  me,  is  not  worthy 
of  me.  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it  :  and  he 
that  shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it."  * 
The  enquiry  after  the  true  church,  the  true  faith,  the 
*  St.  Matthew  vi.  33  ;   x.  37-39. 


292  The  Way  of  Salvation. 

lawful   sacraments,  is  not  one  of  secondary  import- 
ance, relating  to  non-essential  matters.     It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  life  and  death,  an  enquiry  after  the  true  and 
only  way  of  salvation  established  by  Jesus  Christ. 
The  only  consideration  admissible  by  any  upright  and 
conscientious  person  who  fears  God  and  wishes  to 
save  his  soul  is  :  What  is  the  truth,  what  is  my  duty  ? 
The  only  honest  decision,  when  these  are  ascertained, 
is  to  follow  them   immediately,  without    regard  to 
any  temporal   motives  or  interests.     Such  was   the 
conduct  of  our  first  Christian  ancestors;   and  it  has 
been  imitated  by  many  in  our  own  day,  whose  noble 
and  generous  loyalty  to   conscience  and   the  faith 
once  delivered   to   the  saints,  is  a  grand  offset  to 
the  ignoble  apostasies  of  faithless  and  fallen  Chris- 
tians who   have   deserted  the  glorious  standard  of 
the  cross.     May  the  grace  of  God  add  daily  to  their 
number,  and  bring  back  all  the   strayed   lambs  of 
Christ  who  still  reverence  his  name  and  word  to  the 
fold  of  the  true  church,  that  there  may  be  one  fold 
and  one  shepherd,  and  the  prayer  of  Christ   receive 
its  perfect  fulfilment :  "  That  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us." 


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